Sports
Nagarkoti clinches title
Bhuwan Nagarkoti edged top-ranked Shivaram Shrestha by one stroke to win the Surya Nepal Eastern Open at the par-70 Nirvana Country Club course in Dharan on Friday.Bhuwan Nagarkoti edged top-ranked Shivaram Shrestha by one stroke to win the Surya Nepal Eastern Open at the par-70 Nirvana Country Club course in Dharan on Friday.
Nagarkoti started the third and final round three strokes behind overnight leader Shiva Kumar Majhi, an amateur, and one adrift of Nepal No 1 Shrestha but his three-under 67 on Friday was enough for him to secure second title of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour.
After making a mockery of his amateur status with back-t0-back two-under 68 in the first two round, Majhi carded two-over 72 on Friday. His total of two-under 208 saw him finish overall third but clinched the amateur
category title.
Nagarkoti caught up with Shrestha at half way stage of the final round, while Majhi fell two strokes behind the new leaders after shooting three-over 38. While Nagarkoti carded two-under 33, Shrestha shot one-under 34 in the front nine. After the 16th hole, Majhi joined Nagarkoti and Shrestha as he sank three birdies against a lone bogey.
But Majhi fell one shot behind Nagarkoti and Shrestha after dropped a shot on the par-3 17th hole. Nagarkoti and Shrestha saved pars set an exciting finale. However, Nagarkoti sealed the trophy as he sank a birdie and his nearest opponent Shrestha suffered a bogey. Majhi also dropped another shot in the final hole to finish one stroke behind Shrestha.
Sanjay Lama ended up third among the professional with even-par 210. Lama shot even-par 70 in the final round. Top three pros earned Rs 100,000, Rs 63,000 and Rs 45,000 respectively. Local pro Bal Bhadra Rai (72) finished fourth at three-over 213 that earned him Rs 38,000. Another Dharan pro Tham Bahadur Rai shot a 73 to finish fifth at 215. Rai received Rs 33,500 for his effort. Purna Sharma (74) was sixth at 216, while Dhana Thapa (75) stood seventh at 217. Ram Krishna Shrestha, who carded 73 on Friday, finished eighth at 222, while Ramesh Adhikari (76) and Rabi Khadka (74) finished tied for ninth at 223.
The Pro-Am is slated for Saturday in which 12 professional and 36 amateur golfers are scheduled to take part.
n Bhuwan Nagarkoti celebrates after winning the Surya Nepal Eastern Open in Dharan on Friday.Photo Courtesy: NPGA