Kathmandu, June 4

The Surya Nepal Premier Golf Championship, the biggest and season-ending tournament of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2017-18, is beginning here at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club from Monday.

A total of 36 professional golfers are taking part in the eighth and final event of the season that carries a cash purse of Rs 1.2 million, informed Nepal PGA in a release today. The event will be played over 72 holes, while the cut will be applied after the second round. Top 24 pros will make it to the money-making final two rounds.

The champion golfer after the four rounds will receive Rs 220,000, while the runner-up will earn Rs 134,000 and third-placed pro get Rs 90,000. The fourth and fifth-placed pros will get Rs 74,000 and Rs 65,000 respectively. Others in the top 24 will also get their share of cash prizes. The event is the biggest tournament in the domestic circuit in terms of cash purse.

Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram Shrestha, who has won five out of seven events in the season, along with home club pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti, third-ranked Sanjay Lama and former top pro Rabi Khadka are favourites to win the title. Veteran pro Deepak Magar and his brother Rame Magar along with Army Club pro Dhana Thapa and Surya Prasad Sharma are the other title contenders.

In amateur section, 12 players will be vying for the coveted trophy. National team members Sukra Bahadur Rai, Tanka Bahadur Karki, Tenzing Tshiring, Shiva Kumar Majhi will be fighting for the trophy along with veteran amateur golfer Tashi Ghale. Only to six amateurs will make the cut after the second round.

Nepal PGA President Rabindra Man Shrestha said: “The season-ending event carries the biggest purse ever in the local tournament and I see a lot of enthusiasm among the players as they are practicing very hard to finish well in the competition. I’d like to thank our sponsor, Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd for providing this opportunity for our golfers and their untiring commitment for the growth of the sport in Nepal.” The event will come to its end with a Pro-Am event on June 9. A total of 75 amateur golfers will rub their shoulders with 25 pros for a competitive and fun event.