KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 17
Nepali golfer Sukra Bahadur Rai moved 13 places up after the third round of the Tata Steel PGTI Qualifying School at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad today.
Rai carded one-over 73 on the third day to post the 54- hole total score of eight-over 224 and he shared the 38th position with four Indian golfers - Aditya Raj Kumar Chauhan (72), Martendeya Kanishka Sinha (73), Abhimanyu Dhara (74) and Raja BR (75).
The Nepali pro took the turn at one-under 35 before playing two-over 38 on the back nine. Rai saved pars on the first four holes before carding back-to-back birdies on the fifth, where he had an eagle in the first round, and sixth. He then dropped a shot in the seventh and saved pars on the next two holes before taking the turn.
Rai failed to maintain the tempo on the back nine where he suffered four bogeys against two birdies. He carded a birdie on the 11th but dropped shots on the next two holes. He finished the round with bogey-birdie-bogey on the last three holes.
Rai said he finished with better score compared to first two rounds but poor approach shots let him down in the third round.
"It was a satisfactory round overall but I made mistakes on two holes. I missed a couple of greens due to poor approach shots," he said. "I will try my best to play an under-par round on the final day and finish inside top 40," added Rai, who had played fourover 76 and three-over 75 in the first two rounds respectively to share the 51st position with six other golfers - five Indians and a Bangladeshi.
Rai made it to the final stage of the PGTI Qualifying School after he finished tied ninth in the pre-qualifying tournament with the score of four-over 148 in 36-hole contest at the same course last week. Top 40 golfers after the four rounds will earn full cards for the 2022 season of the Professional Golf Tour of India, while 20 others will get provisional cards.
Rai has already bagged three titles under Surya Nepal Golf Tour since turning pro after winning team event gold medal in the 13th South Asian Games held on home soil in December 2019. Rai had won two events of the Tour as an amateur player.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 18, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
