Rai hold on to 1-stroke lead

Kathmandu, January 10:

Mani Rai held on to one-stroke lead over Deepak Acharya on Wednesday after the second round of the Kailash Tea Open Golf Tournament where 13 pros and nine amateurs made the cuts at the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort and Spa on Wednesday.

Rai and Acharya both carded one over 73. Rai finished two under 70 while Acharya had one under 71 in the first round on Tuesday. Rai had a round of three over 39 in the first nine but improved dramatically to two under 34 in the last nine. Rai had double-bogeys in the second and eighth hole while he also had a birdie in the third. On the last nine, Rai had a bogey in hole 14th, while having birdies in the 11th, 12th and 18th.

Acharya, on the other hand, had three shots advantage over Rai in the first nine with his even par 36. His one over 37 in the last nine cost him the lead. Acharya opened with a bogey on the first but had a birdie in the third hole to finish even par in the first nine while he had bogeys in the 11th and 14th while he had a birdie in the 16th.

Deepak Thapa Magar, who had even par 72 on the first day, carded one over 73 to finish third with one over 145 after the second round. Toran Shahi is fourth with two shots behind Thapa Magar. Shahi carded one under 71. Deepak Neupane is one shot behind Shahi with four under 148.

Among the other pros to make the cuts were Pashupati Sharma, Sabin Sapkota, Radhe Shyam Thapa, Rajan Thapa, Sanjay Lama, Ramesh Nagarkoti, Sachin Bhattarai and Sukra Raj Limbu. Sachin and Sukra Raj made the cuts after tying for the 12th. Ram Thapa, CB Bhandari, Bhimsen Karki and Suman Sapkota were the pros that failed to make the cuts.

Among the amateurs who made the cuts were Shiva Ram Shrestha, Rupak Acharya, Ram Krishna Shrestha, Rabi Khadka, Yelamber Adhikari, Juti Tham, Tashi Ghale, Surya Sharma and Jay Ram.

Scores after 36 holes — Pros: 143 - Mani Rai, 144 - Deepak Acharya, 145- Deepak Thapa Magar, 147- Toran Shahi, 148 - Deepak Neupane, 149 - Pashupati Sharma, 151 - Sabin Sapkota, 154 - Radhe Shyam Thapa, 156 - Rajan Thapa, 156 - Sanjay Lama, 158 - Ramesh Nagarkoti, 159 - Sachin Bhattarai, Sukra Raj Limbu.

Amateurs: 149 - Shiva Ram Shrestha, 150 - Rupak Acharya, 154 - Ram Krishna Shrestha, 155 - Rabi Khadka, 156 - Yelamber Adhikari, 158 - Juti Tham, 163 - Tashi Ghale, 164 - Surya Sharma, 168 - Jaya Ram.