Kathmandu, April 23

Defending champion Shivaram Shrestha earned the share of the lead with fellow RNGC pros Ramesh Nagarkoti and Rabi Khadka after the first round of the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

The three pros returned with the matching cards of two-under 70. Shrestha took the turn at five-under 31. After saving pars on the first two holes, Shrestha carded three straight birdies from the third hole and added two more on the seventh and ninth.

The No 1 pro faced two triple bogeys - both on par-5 holes - on the back nine before settling for three-over 39. Shrestha carded his sixth birdie of the day on the 11th hole before facing triple bogeys on the 12th and 15th holes. He then recovered with an eagle on the final hole to earn the share of lead.

“I hit into the jungle on the 12th and three-putted on the green after taking a penalty drop,” said Shrestha. “On the 15th, it was all my mistakes,” he added. “Despite all these errors, I could chip putt for an eagle on the 18th and I am confident of doing well from tomorrow.”

Joint leader Nagarkoti carded even-par 36 on the front nine where he shot a birdie on the fifth and faced a bogey on the eighth. He then carded two-under 34 on the latter half with the help of birdies on the 13th and 15th holes.

Former No 1 pro Khadka carded birdies on the second and third holes to take the turn at two-under 34. Khadka then played even-par 36 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the 10th and 15th holes and in between faced bogeys on the 11th and 14th holes.

Pro Shiva Kumar Majhi and amateur players Tanka Bahadur Karki and Tashi Tsering shared the fourth position at one-under 71. On a day when 11 players broke the par, four pros - Dhana Bahadur Thapa, Rame Magar, Surya Prasad Sharma and Purna Sharma - and young amateur player Subash Ghising were tied for seventh at even-par 72.