Kathmandu, May 10

Shivaram Shrestha moved to the top of the table after the third round of the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

Top pro Shrestha, who won the first four events of the season, carded third consecutive one-under 71 to post a three-under 213 in the seventh event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17.

Surya Prasad Sharma, who was five strokes ahead after the second round, played a disastrous round of six-over 78 to slip to second at one-under 215.

Shrestha shot one-over 37 before taking the turn and carded two-under 34 on the back nine. The Nepal No 1 pro faced bogeys on the third and ninth holes against a lone birdie on the fifth. On the bogey-free back nine, Shrestha carded birdies on the 11th and 15th holes.

Sharma, who carded 66 and 71 on the first two days, failed to card a single birdie on the third round shooting three-over 39 on both halves. He made a disastrous start with a triple bogey after losing the ball. He bounced back saving pars on the next eight holes. Sharma then suffered bogeys on 10th, 14th and 17th holes.

Sanjay Lama was third at even-par 216 after he played one-over 73 for a total of even-par 216. Lama shot even-par 36 on the front nine that included a bogey on the second hole and a birdie on the seventh. Lama then faced a double bogey five on the 10th and carded a birdie on the next hole to finish the back nine at one-over 37.

Rame Magar (75) and amateur Tanka Karki (72) shared the fourth position at three-over 219. Bhuwan Nagarkoti carded even-par 72 for a total of four-over 220, while Rajendra Thapa Magar (72) was further behind at 221. Rabi Khadka played two-over 74 for a total of six-over 222. Also, Jayaram Shrestha carded one-under 71 for a total of 10-over 226.

Amateur section leader Karki carded one-under 35 on the front nine and played one-over 37 on the latter half. Karki carded a total of four birdies on the third, sixth, seventh and 15th holes but he faced bogeys on the fourth, eighth 13th and 18th holes.

Tenzing Tsering moved up to second in amateur section after he carded two-under 70 for a total score of nine-over 225. He was six shots behind leader Karki.

A total of 40 players — 31 pros and 15 amateur golfers — teed off on the first day of the four-day tournament sponsored by Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.

The event carries a total purse of Rs 600,000 and the top three pros will receive Rs 110,000, Rs 70,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively. Others in the top 21 will also receive their share of cash prizes.