Kathmandu, September 27

The 2015-16 season of Surya Nepal Golf Tour is beginning with the Surya Nepal Central Open here at the Gokarna Golf Club on Monday.

The season, which was originally scheduled to begin with the Surya Nepal Masters in April, was postponed because of devastating earthquake. The season-opener will be played over 72 holes with 31 pros and eight amateur golfers in fray.

The cut will be applied after the second round with top 21 plus ties making it to the money-making final two rounds. The same cut will be applied for amateur golfers also. Out of the total prize purse of Rs 540,750, the top three pros will receive Rs 100,000, Rs 63,000 and Rs 45,000 respectively. Others in the top 21 will also get their share of cash prizes.

Defending Champion Shivaram Shrestha said he was excited with the beginning of the season. “Finally we are getting some play underway and I am looking forward to it,” said the top Nepali pro. However, Shrestha was not certain of defending the No 1 title he has been holding for the last four seasons. “We are playing after a gap of more than six months and I don’t know about my form,” he said. “Let’s see how it goes,” added Shrestha.

No 2 pro Rabi Khadka, who is known for his short game, along with Army Club pro Sanjay Lama and Gokarna’s Umesh Nagarkoti are expected to put up a strong fight, while Bikash Bogati and Shivaram Poudel will be making their professional debut from this event. Bogati and Poudel earned pro cards from Surya Nepal Qualifying School earlier this month.

Rabindra Man Shrestha, President of Nepal PGA said the tour could not be organized because of the devastating earthquake and heavy monsoon. “Now that rains have slowed the pace, it’s the right time to begin competitive golf. I extend by sincere gratitude to Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd for their tremendous support for the development of the game. I hope the boys will produce some low scores this week,” Shrestha added.