KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 3
Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai earned full cards for the 2023 season of the Professional Golf Tour of India in Kolkata today.
Rai played one-over 71 in the fourth and final round of the Qualifying School for the 72- hole total of seven-under 273 at the par-70 Tollygunge Golf Club in Kolkata. Rai slipped two places down to sixth position but that was enough for him to seal the full cards of the Indian Tour for the second straight season.
Rai had also qualified for the previous season of the Indian Tour but failed to protect the card after he fell out of top 60 in the PGTI Order of Merit. Rai, who played 18 tournaments in the previous season, finished at 67th position.
The Dharan-based Rai, member of the national team that won gold medal in the 13th South Asian Games held in Kathmandu in 2019, returned with over-par card for the first time in the tournament. He took the turn at two-over 36 before carding a bogey-free one-under 35 on the latter half.
Rai started with two straight bogeys and added three more on the fourth, sixth and ninth holes.
He carded a birdie on the third and sank an eagle on the seventh hole. After taking the turn, Rai carded a birdie on the 16th and saved pars on eight other holes.
A total of 37 golfers earned fullcards for the Indian Tour's upcoming season, which will begin with the Players Championship on February 7 at the same club.
Indian amateur Aryan Roopa Anand won the Q-School title with an impressive score of 20-under 260 after he carded two-under 68 in the final round.
Karan Pratap Singh, who also carded a 68, finished second at 14-under 266, while Sri Lanka's K Prabagaran (65) moved two places up to third at 12-under 268. Indian pro C Muniyappa (70) slipped to fourth at nine-under 271, one stroke ahead of fifth-placed Sudhir Sharma (69).
A version of this article appears in the print on February 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
