Kathmandu, March 17

Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram Shrestha defeated Sanjay Lama in the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play final here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today to win the first title of the season.

Shrestha, runner-up in the previous four tournaments of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2015-16, registered a 2&1 victory over Army Club pro Lama in the 36-hole contest at his home club course. With the 29th career title, Shrestha received a cheque of Rs 50,000 and a trophy, while Lama —winner of the season opener Surya Nepal Central Open — earned Rs 30,000.

Shrestha trailed by two after the first three holes before he came back strongly to take the turn at one-up. He then extended the lead to two before going into the lunch break. Shrestha went 4-up on the 26th hole but Lama reduced the deficit to three on the next before going into the final nine holes. Shrestha went 3-up on the 12th with an eagle before Lama hit back on the next hole. After both the players shared the next three holes, Shrestha settled things on the 17th with a 30-foot birdie putt.

Shrestha pumped his fist before acknowledging the crowd. “It’s always a pleasure to win the trophy and this one is special as I was not able to get one despite coming close to victory in four events this season,” said Shrestha, who was not happy with the overall performance. “I would not have won the trophy if it were a stroke play tournament. The game is not up to the mark to win the trophy. I won only because it was a match play as a bad play in one hole does not make a huge difference in this format,” he added. Lama rued the missed putts. “I missed a lot of short putts today and that let me down,” said Lama.

Earlier, Bhuwan Nagarkoti of Gokarna Golf Club finished third with a 4&2 victory over defending champion Rabi Khadka of RNGC. Nagarkoti pocketed Rs 22,000, while Khadka received Rs 18,000. Out of the total cash purse of Rs 200,000, the four losing quarter-finalists — RNGC trio Deepak Thapa Magar, Rame Magar and Surya Prasad Sharma and Army Club’s Dhana Thapa — received Rs 10,000 each, while eight first-round losers earned Rs 5,000 apiece.

Top 16 pros in the 2014-15 Order of Merit took part in the fifth event under the current season of Surya Nepal Golf Tour. NPGA president Rabindra Man Shrestha, Surya Nepal Brand Manager Keshav Pradhan, Nepal Golf Association president Madhukar Yakthumba, RNGC Captain NK Rai and NPGA Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa gave away prizes the winners.