Kathmandu, January 25
Dinesh Prajapati and Ramesh Adhikari advanced to the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play final on a day that saw a host of upsets here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.
Top three and fifth-ranked pros were eliminated in the quarter-finals before Prajapati and Adhikari paved their ways to the final of the third event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23.
They will contest in the 36- hole final on Thursday.
Seventh-ranked Prajapati defeated eighth-ranked Dhana Bahadur Thapa, while 13th ranked Adhikari beat 10th ranked Bhuwan Kumar Rokka by identical scores of 2&1 in the semi-finals. Thapa will face Rokka in the thirdplace match over 18 holes, also on Thursday.
Earlier, top seeded pros did not fare well in the quarter-finals.
Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai, defending champion second-ranked Bhuvan Nagarkoti, thirdranked Jayaram Shrestha and No 5 pro Rabi Khadka fell in the round of eight clashes. No 10 pro Bhuwan Kumar Rokka upset top pro Rai 3&1, whereas Army Club pro Dhana Bahadur Thapa outplayed No 2 pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti 3&2.
Likewise, Adhikari stunned fifth-ranked former top pro Rabi Khadka 3&2, while Prajapati defeated third-ranked Jayaram Shrestha 3&2. Top 16 pros in Order of Merit of Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021-22 were in fray in the tournament but the PGA Nepal allowed top 20 players as four pros are out of the country.
The event, organised by PGA Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, carries a cash purse of Rs 250,000. Top four pros will receive Rs 60,000, Rs 42,000, Rs 32,000 and Rs 24,000 respectively.
Four losing quarter-finalists will get Rs 11,000 each, while the eight pros eliminated from the first round will receive Rs 6,000 apiece.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 26, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
