Kathmandu, January 24

Shiva Ram Shrestha and Bhuwan Nagarkoti entered the final of the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.

No 1 pro Shrestha registered an One-Up victory over fifth-ranked Surya Prasad Sharma, while No 3 pro Nagarkoti defeated No 7 Rame Magar 3&1 in the semi-finals of the fifth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2018-19.

Shrestha, the winner of three events of the season, made a slow start and needed Hole-In-One to beat fellow RNGC pro Sharma. Sharma went two-up after winning the first two holes before Shrestha hit back claiming the next two holes.

The two pros went neck-to-neck before Shrestha took lead after the completion of the front nine. The top pro then opened up two-hole lead with an ace on the 14th but failed to preserve the lead. Sharma won the next two holes to level the scores with two holes remaining.

A perfect tee shot and a tap-in birdie put Shrestha ahead on the 17th after Sharma missed from 15 yards. Sharma had a chance to take the match to extra hole but he again missed the birdie putt on the final hole and Shrestha two-putted for a par to share the hole and book a place in the final.

In another semi-final match, Gokarna Golf Club pro Nagarkoti registered the victory on the 17th hole after he went 3-Up. On Thursday, the final will be played over 36 holes, while the third-place match will be of 18 holes.

Earlier in the quarter-finals, top pro Shrestha beat his sibling Jayaram  5&3, while Sharma upset defending champion Rabi Khadka 3&1.

Also, Nagarkoti won 5&4 against Yelamber Singh Adhikari, while Rame Magar stunned Sanjay Lama in third extra hole after they were all-square in regulation 18 holes.

Top 16 pros in the Order of Merit of the previous edition of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour are taking part in the three-day tournament organised by Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.

The event carries a cash purse of Rs 250,000. The winner will get Rs 70,000, while the runner-up will earn Rs 40,000, Likewise, the third and fourth placed pros will get Rs 28,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.

The four losing quarter-finalists will get Rs 11,000 each, while the players who lost in the first round will get Rs 6,000 each.