Kathmandu, March 4
Top Nepali pro Sukra Bahadur Rai finished joint 35th in the Gujarat Open Golf Championship at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club in Ahmedabad today.
Rai carded four straight birdies on the back nine to recover to one-under 71 in the final round to post the 72-hole total of eight-over 297 in his second event of the Professional Golf Tour of India. He moved 15 places up to earn a share of 35th position and earned INR 88,867. Rai had pocketed INR 105,700 after he finished joint 27th in the PGTI Players Championship last month.
Starting the day from the 10th tee, Rai played two-over 38 on his front nine before bouncing back with a three-under 33 on the latter half. He faced bogeys on the 11th, 13th and 14th before carding the first birdie of the day on the 17th hole. After taking the turn, Rai dropped a shot on the first hole and carded four consecutive birdies from the third hole to finish the day on a high.
The Dharan-based golfer, Rai made a poor start in the tournament playing five-over 77 before carding a three-under 69 to survive the cut. But he faltered to eight-over 80 in the third round. After carding a 71 in the final round, Rai moved up in the table to share the 35th position with six Indian golfers - Akshay Sharma, M Dharma, Harshjeet Singh Sethie, Amardeep Malik, Aalaap Il And Aadil Bedi - along with Sri Lankan Mithun Perera and Japan's Makoto Iwasaki.
Indian pro Aman Raj won the title with the total score of 11-under 277 despite playing a round of one-over 73. Out of the total cash purse of INR 10 million, Raj earned INR 1.5 million.
PGTI Q-School winner Aryan Roopa Anand finished second at 10-under 278 after he carded third straight three-under 69. Overnight co-leader Anshul Patel faltered to four-over 76 and slipped two spots down to share the third position with Abhinav Lohan (68) at eight-under 280.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 5, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
