The newly turned pro Rupak carded even-par 72 on the third day for a total of four-under 212, while Pokhara pro Neupane shot one-under 71 to go into the second position with the scores of three-over 219. Another home club pro and elder brother of Rupak, Deepak maintained the third position at 220 despite the third round score of five-over 77.

RNGC pro Ramesh Nagarkoti carded one-over 73 to stay fourth at 221, one stroke ahead of Rajan Thapa, who also shot 73. Ram Thapa, who was second after the second round, shared the sixth position with Purna Sharma and first-round leader Mani Rai at 223. Krishna Hari Mizar along with Sharma brothers Pashupati and Surya are joint ninth at 225. The Surya Nepal Tour 2009-10 money leader Rabi Khadka is 12th with the scores of 15-over 227.

Among amateurs, Tashi Tsering is on top with the scores of 225, one stoke ahead of Samundra Giri, and two ahead of Ramesh Adhikari. Dipendra Rayamajhi is a distant fourth at 238.

Rupak, who won the last month’s Central Open trophy as an amateur, has maintained the consistency over the last three rounds. He carded three-under 69 on the first day to share the second position, while the under-71 on the second day put him on top of the leaderborad and the even-par 72 today gave him the seven-stroke lead over the opponent whom he beat in the Central Open.

Rupak began the day with two-stroke lead over Ram Thapa and maintained his scores until the par-3 fifth hole where he dropped a shot. The home club pro sank an eagle on the par-5 seventh but dropped two shots on the next hole before earning a shot in the ninth to take a turn at even-par 36. On the back nine, he had two birdies against as many bogeys to complete the day with an even-par card.

Deepak Neupane, the only pro of the day to submit an under-par card, had three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, while his back nine of even-par 36 included three birdies and one each bogey and double bogey.

Defending champion Deepak Acharya — the most successful golfer with 10 trophies under his belt — hung on to third position from the first day. He carded 72 and 71 in the first two rounds. His front nine score of three-over 39 toay included five bogeys and two birdies, while his back nine of two-over 38 produced three bogeys against a lone birdie.

The Surya Nepal Tour 2009-10 is set end on Friday following the final round of the seventh event of the season. The final event offers the cash purse of Rs 350,000 and the top three pros will receive Rs 72,000, Rs 41,000 and Rs 32,000 respectively. Others who have made the cut will get their share of cash prizes, while the amateurs will be awarded with trophies.