KATHMANDU: The Nepal Golf Association (NGA) selected three outstanding players from the Surya Nepal NGA Youth Golf Programme that concluded here today.

Dinesh Prajapati of Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC) and Sanjiv CK from Himalayan Golf Course of Pokhara — both 19-year-old boys — and 10-year-old girl Sonam Phintso Lama of RNGC were the golfers who impressed MD and CEO of Tiger Sports Marketing and Golf Consultant Brandon de Souza to get their names on top three.

The trio received junior golf kit sets each from Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. The two boys also earned the opportunity to play in the Surya Nepal Golf Tour beginning with the Western Open in Pokhara from November 28, while Sonam will participate in the Pro-Am events under the Tour.

The three player were selected from the lot of 42, who were brought to Kathmandu from the five clubs of the nation. The 42 players included 26 of RNGC, five each from Gokarna of Kathmandu and Nirvana Country Club of Dharan, and three each from Himalayan Golf Course of Pokhara and Tribhuvan Army Officers’ Golf Club of Kathmandu.

The 42 received training on November 16 and 17 from local coaches at the RNGC and Gokarna and de Souza selected 27 players for the Camp of Excellence. The golf consultant then trained them for the next two days before picking up the best three golfers.

The NGA and Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd had launched the programme with an aim to bring out junior talents on June 18 with the three-day trainers’ training course conducted by de Souza. In the first phase a total of 194 students from eight to 20 years of age enrolled in five different venues. The NGA cut down the number to 42 after a three-month training.

Deepak Thapa Magar, Ramesh Nagarkoti, Sachin Bhattarai, Rabi Khadka, Rajan Thapa, Sanjaya Lama, Surya Sharma, CB Bhandari and Tashi Ghale conducted the first phase training at the RNGC, while Deepak Acharya and Pashupati Sharma did so at Gokarna. Maj Madan Gurung and Bhuvan Gurung were the coaches assigned at Pokhara and Radhe Shyam Thapa trained the players at the Army club. Suman Sapkota and Mani Rai were selected to conduct training in Dharan.

Managing Director of Surya Nepal Sanjiv Keshava along with de Souza handed over the certificates to the 27 players who made it to the final round. Marketing Manager of Surya Nepal Abhijit Chakravorty, Brand Manager Iswar Gautam, vice president of NGA Rabindra Man Shrestha and General Secretary Tashi Ghale were also present on the occasion.