Kathmandu, April 6

Bhuwan Nagarkoti registered a two-stroke victory over Shrestha siblings Shivaram and Jayaram in the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club on today.

Nagarkoti, who had a four-stroke lead going into the final round, played two-over 70 for the total score of one-under 271 in the eighth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2017-18. Jayaram produced the best card of the day carding three-under 65 to share the second place with his younger brother and Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram, who played even-par 68, at one-over 273.

Nagarkoti claimed his second title of the season and fourth overall. Along with the trophy, the Gokarna Golf Club pro received Rs 90,000. “Although I could not play to my potential in the final round, I am happy with the way I finished the tournament,” said Nagarkoti. “I had not been able to get desired finishing in previous events despite playing good in first two or three rounds. But now I have matured as a player and I could play my own game without the final round pressure,” he added.

Shivaram, as usual, pushed hard from behind and was able to catch the leader on the 13th hole. But he failed to keep the momentum going and lost two strokes on the next hole after he faced a double bogey on the par-3 14th and Nagarkoti managed to maintain the lead. Shivaram was unlucky on the 14th as he not only overshot the green but found the hazard and he was forced to take a drop before settling for a double bogey.

Shivaram came close to reducing the deficit to one stroke on the 16th hole but Nagarkoti holed it from around 30 feet for a birdie, which he described as the winning putt. “Shivaram caught me on the 13th hole after I faced a double bogey. But I was able to restore the two-shot lead on the next hole and the birdie putt on the 16th was the winning putt,” said Nagarkoti, who saved pars on all nine holes of the front nine.

Shivaram, who was off the mark throughout the tournament, was forced to share the second place with his brother after Jayaram carded three-under 65. The top pro — who has won four titles in the current season to take his overall tally to 40 — did card six birdies in the final round but he went on to face a double bogey and four bogeys. On the other hand, Jayaram carded five birdies and suffered two bogeys. Out of the total cash purse of Rs 525,000, Shrestha brothers received Rs 54,000 each.

Defending champion and first-round leader Rame Magar carded two-under 66 to finish fourth at three-over 275, while his elder brother Deepak Thapa Magar (67) came fifth at seven-over 279. They earned 42,000 and Rs 36,000 respectively.

Former No 1 pro Rabi Khadka (70) was sixth at 280 and he earned 31,500. Bikash Adhikari, Surya Prasad Sharma, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka and Ramesh Nagarkoti finished in top 10.

In amateur section, Tanka Bahadur Karki registered a five-shot win over Surendra Phuyal. Karki carded even-par 68 for total score of 16-over 288, while Phuyal shot two-over 70. Binod Tamang, who had a Hole-in-One on the par-3 third hole on his way to finishing the round at one-under 67, came third at 298. Subash Tamang had fired the ace on Hole No 17 on the third day. Tamang duo received gift hampers worth Rs 10,000 from golf enthusiast Vijay Awale.

A total of 47 golfers — 33 pros and 14 amateurs — took part in the event organised by Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. Dipra Lahiri, Vice-president, Sales and Marketing, at Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd and Nepal PGA Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa handed over prizes to the winners.