KATHMANDU: Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram Shrestha carded two-under 66 to move at the top of the leaderboard after the third round of the Surya Nepal Golf Challenge 2017 at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Thursday.
The RNGC pro Shivaram posted a total of four-under 200 to take a two-shot lead over his elder brother Jayaram Shrestha in the second event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. Overnight leader Jayaram played five-over 73 for a total of two-under 202. Bhuwan Nagarkoti of Gokarna Golf Club is third at even-par 204 after he played a round of two-over 70, while Rame Magar carded even-par 68 to stay at the fourth position with the total score of two-over 206.
Sanjay Lama slipped to fifth after he shot nine-over 77, while Chuda Bahadur Bhandari moved to sixth at five-over 209 after he carded one-under 67 in the third round. Rabi Khadka (70) is seventh at 210, followed by Dhana Bahadur Thapa (75) and Deepak Magar (71). Ram Krishna Shrestha (75), Bikash Adhikari (75) and Surya Prasad Sharma (71) shared the 10th position at 11-over 215.
Shivaram took the turn at one-over 35 and carded three-under 31 on the back nine. Shivaram carded a birdie on the second hole before facing bogeys on the third and ninth holes in the front nine. On the back nine, Shivaram carded birdies on the 11th, 13th and 14th holes. Jayaram faltered to four-over 38 on the front nine and added one-over 35 on the back nine. His round included five birdies on the second, 10th, 13th, 17th and 18 holes but he faced three double bogeys on the third, 11th and 15th holes and four bogeys on the sixth, seventh, ninth and 16th holes.
Bhuwan Nagarkoti played even-par 34 on the front nine and added two-over 36 on the back nine, while Rame Magar took the turn at one-over 35 and carded one-under 33 for an even-par 68. Likewise, Sanjay Lama dropped six shots on the par-4 seventh hole before taking the turn at eight-over 42 and added one-over 35 on the back nine. CB Bhandari shot three-over 37 before taking the turn but he carded four-under 30 on the back nine.
In amateur section, Mithun Rai played a round of six-over 74 to remain at the top of the table with the total score of 215, while Santosh Rokka (72) is second at 216 and Shiva Kumar Majhi (76) is third at 218.
A total of 22 pros and six amateur golfers will play in the final round of the tournament on Friday. The event, organized by Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, carries a total purse of Rs 400,000 and the winner will bag a cheque of Rs. 75,000, Runner up will take home Rs. 46,000 and third place will earn Rs. 31,500. Others in the top 21 will also receive their share of cash prizes.