KATHMANDU, February 23: Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha won the title of the Surya Nepal Central Open, the fourth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17, at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Thursday.
Shiva Ram carded three-under 69 for a total score of four-under 284 to claim the fourth consecutive title of the season. This is Shiva Ram’s 34th career title. With the trophy, Shiva Ram received a cheque of Rs 110,000. Shiva Ram was nine strokes behind overnight leader amateur golfer Tenzing Tsering but the 16-year-old amateur golfer faltered to seven-over 79 to finish overall second with the score of three-under 285. Tenzing won the amateur section title, his first in the Surya Nepal Golf Tour.
Defending champion Sanjay Lama of Army Club was second among the pros at one-under 287 after he carded even-par 72 in the final round and he received Rs 70,000. Rabi Khadka (75) of RNGC and home club pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti (72) were tied for third at one-over 289 and earned Rs 45,000 each, while Jayaram Shrestha (72) was fifth at 293 and got Rs 35,000.
Army Club pro Dhana Thapa finished sixth at 296 after he played a round of four-over 76, whereas Deepak Magar (72) and Deepak Acharya (71) shared the seventh position at 10-over 298. Amateur golfer Tanka Bahadur Karki also posted a total score of 298 to finish second in amateur section. Bal Bhadra Rai (77) of Dharan came ninth at 299, while Rame Magar (76) was 10th at 304.
Shiva Ram began the day nine strokes off the lead and cut the deficit to two strokes after he carded four-under 32 on the front nine, while Tenzing played three-over 39. He then leveled the scores at three-under on the 15th hole after Tenzing suffered a triple bogey. Shiva Ram took the lead for the first time in the tournament with a timely birdie on the 17th hole and two-putted for a par on the final hole to complete the victory.
On the front nine, Shiva Ram sank an eagle on the third hole and carded birdies on the seventh and ninth holes to take the turn at four-under 32, while he faced bogeys on the 10th and 11th holes against a birdie on the 17th hole to finish the back nine at one-over 37. Tenzing, who played the rounds of66, 70, and 70 on the first three days, faltered to three-over 39 on the front nine that included a double bogey on the fourth and a bogey on the sixth hole. On the back nine, Tenzing suffered a double bogey on the 13th and faced a triple bogey on the 15th against a lone birdie on the 12th hole for a four-over 40.
A total of 48 players, 33 pros and 15 amateur golfers, took part in the fourth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. The event carried a total cash purse of Rs 600,000. Vice-President Sales and Marketing of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Dipra Lahiri, Marketing Manager Bal Kishan Gurung, Nepal PGA President Rabindra Man Shrestha and Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa handed over the prizes to the winners of the tournament.