KATHMANDU: Shivaram Shrestha won the title of the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play at the par-67 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Thursday. Top pro Shivaram of RNGC defeated No 2 pro Sanjay Lama of Army Club 3&1 in the final.
The final was played over 36 holes. Shivaram was one-up after nine holes and extended the lead to two after 18 holes. Shivaram then went three-up after 27 holes and completed the victory on the 35th hole with a birdie putt from 30 feet. Sanjay was 2-up after the first three holes before Shivaram charged back winning three holes to go 1-up on the first nine holes. Shivaram did not look back and was 4-up after 26 holes.
Shivaram pocketed a cheque of Rs 50,000 along with the trophy, while Sanjay earned Rs 30,000. This is Shivaram’s first title of the season after he had finished runner-up in the previous four events. The title is Shivaram’s 29th overall.
Earlier, Bhuwan Nagarkoti of Gokarna Golf Club defeated defending champion Rabi Khadka of RNGC 4&2 in the third-place match. Bhuwan received Rs 22,000, while Rabi got Rs 18,000. Four losing quarter-finalists Rame Magar, Deepak Thapa Magar, Dhana Thapa and Surya Prasad Sharma received Rs 10,000 each, while eight professional golfers who lost in the first round got Rs 5,000 apiece. A total of 16 players — top 16 in last year’s Order of Merit took part in the fifth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2015-16. The event was organized by Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. The event carried a total cash purse of Rs 200,000.
President of Nepal PGA Rabindra Man Shrestha, Brand Manager of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Keshav Pradhan, president of Nepal Golf Association Madhukar Yakthumba, RNGC Captain NK Rai and NPGA Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa handed over the prizes to the winners of the tournament.