DHARAN, DECEMBER 25: Five golfers shared the lead of the Surya Nepal Eastern open, the fifth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2013-14, at the Par-70 Nirvana Country Club Health and Golf Spa in Dharan on Wednesday.
Ramesh Adhikari, Suman Rai, Deepak Thapa Magar, Rabi Khadka and Sanjay Lama carded one-over 71 to share the lead. Sabin Sapkota and Ram Thapa were tied for sixth at two-over 72, while local pros Mani Rai and Tham Bahadur Rai shared the eighth position at 74. Likewise, Ram Krishna Shrestha and Deo Raj Pakhrin shared the 10th position. Ramesh, veteran pro Deepak and Sanjay took the turn at one-under 34 but all of them shot two-over 37 on the back nine, while local pro Suman played even-par 35 on front nine and one-over 36 on the back nine. Nepal No 2 pro Rabi shot two-over 37 on the front nine before carding one-under 34 on the back nine.
In Amateur section, Local Rabindra Rai carded five-over 75 to stay two strokes ahead of Dinesh Prajapati, the top amateur golfer and Member of Surya Nepal NGA Youth Golf Development Programme. Purna Limbu is third at 78, while Kaji Rai and Indra Rai are joint fifth at 79. The tournament will be played over 72 holes with the Pro-Am event slated for December 29.
A total of 46 players — 28 pros including six local golfers and 18 amateurs — are participating in the tournament organised by Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.
The cut will be applied after the second round with top 21 pros and amateurs making it to the money-making final rounds. Out of the total cash purse of Rs 514,250, the top three pros will be richer by Rs 95,000, Rs 60,000 and Rs 44,000 respectively. Others in the top 21 will also get their share of cash prizes. No 1 pro Shiva Ram missed the tournament as he has been playing in the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) events.