Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai produced the tournament best card of five-under 64 to claim Surya Nepal Western Open at the par-69 Himalayan Golf Course in Pokhara on Friday.
Rai registered a two-stroke victory over defending champion and amateur golfer Subash Tamang who came into the final round holding a five-stroke lead over the top pro.
Rai was joint fifth after the penultimate round before finishing the 54-hole total at one-under 206 to claim his second title of the season and collect his career’s ninth major trophy. He also bagged a check of Rs140,000 and the winners’ trophy.
Amateur Tamang, the 2019 South Asian Games twin gold medalist, shot two-over 71 in the final round and finished second overall with the score of one-over 208. He was a distant winner in the amateur section, finishing a 14-stroke victory over local Ajit BK, who carded six-over 75 in the final round for a total score of 15-over 222.
The opening round leader Bhuvan Nagarkoti and Sanjay Lama shared the second position among pros with three-over 210. Nagarkoti played three-over 72 and Lama carded two-over 71. They became richer by Rs78,500 each. Jayaram Shrestha finished fourth at five-over 212 after he carded even-par 69 and received Rs55,000.
Rame Magar (74) came fifth at six-over 213 and he received Rs47,000, while Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (70) was sixth at nine-over 216 and he received Rs 40,500. Dinesh Prajapati (70) finished seventh at 218 and he earned Rs37,000. Dal Bahadur Lama (77) and Dhana Bahadur Thapa (73) finished joint eighth at 12-over 219. They earned Rs33,000 each. Rabi Khadka (70) and Niraj Tamang (69) were tied for a 10th place finish at 220 and they received Rs28,500 each.
Rai carded one-under 33 on the front nine and played an impressive four-under 31 on the back nine and four-under 31 in the next half. He dropped shots on the second and fifth holes against birdies on the third, sixth and ninth holes. He then carded birdies on the 12th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes.
Tamang played one-over 35 and one-over 36, respectively. He faced bogeys on the second and fifth holes against a lone birdie on third. After taking the turn, he carded a birdie on the 10th hole, but dropped shots on the 13th and 17th holes.
The event will conclude with a Pro-Am contest on Saturday. A total of 60 amateur golfers will rub shoulders with 15 professional golfers.
The fourth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23 featured a total of 45 golfers, including 31 pros and 14 amateurs. The tournament is organised by the Professional Golfers Association Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.
Nepal PGA President Rabindra Man Shrestha, Nepal Golf Association President Tashi Ghale and Regional Sales Manager of Surya Nepal Prakash KC handed over the prizes to the winners.
