Kathmandu, November 24

Sabin Sapkota and Ramesh Nagarkoti carded two-under 65 to share the lead after the first round of the Surya Nepal Challenge here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

Nepal No 1 pro Shiva Ram Shrestha was third at one-under 66 along with Yelamber Singh Adhikari, Jayaram Shrestha and Ramesh Adhikari, while veteran golfer Deepak Thapa Magar and Dinesh Prajapati shared the seventh position at even-par 67. Bhuwan Nagarkoti was ninth at one-over 67, while defending champion Rabi Khadka, Rame Magar and Ram Krishna Shrestha shared the 10th position at two-over 69.

Teaching pro in Germany, Sapkota played one-under 32 on the front nine before carding one-under 33 on the back nine at the par-67 course. Sapkota carded birdies on second, fourth and eighth holes but suffered a double bogey on the third hole. He started back nine with a birdie and added another on the 13th hole but he faced his second double bogey on the 14th hole.

Nagarkoti matched Sapkota’s performance at his home course. He made a bad start with a bogey before carding two straight birdies on the third and fourth. He then dropped a shot on the fifth and carded his third birdie on the ninth hole. On the back nine, Nagarkoti dropped a shot on the 12th before carding birdies on the 13th and 18th holes.

Top pro Shrestha played one-under 32 on the front nine and carded even-par 34 on the latter half. He carded birdies on the fourth and eighth holes, while he dropped a shot on the seventh. After taking the turn, Shrestha dropped a shot on the 12th and saved a stroke on the next hole. Likewise, Adhikari played three-over 36 on the front nine and bounced back strongly carding two birdies and an eagle for four-under 30 on the latter half. Jayaram shot one-over 34 on the front nine and carded two-under 34 on the back nine, while Adhikari played even-par 33 on the front nine and carded one-under 33 on the back nine.

In amateur section, Tanka Bahadur Karki was at the top with the score of three-over 70, three strokes ahead of Prithvi Malla. Pradeep Bikram Rana was third at seven-over 74.

A total of 36 players, 29 pros and 7 amateurs are taking part in the second event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2015-16. The tournament carries a total purse of Rs 383,200 with top three pros earning Rs 70,000, Rs 44,000 and Rs 32,000 respectively. The cut will be applied after the second round.