Rabi Khadka carded one-under 69 to take the first round lead at the Surya Nepal Western Open golf tournament at the par-70 Himalayan Golf Course on Wednesday.

One stroke behind in second at even-par 70 were defending champion Dhana Bahadur Thapa, Nepal No 1 Shivaram Shrestha and Bhuwan Nagarkoti. Bhu Bahadur Gurung was at fifth at three-over 73, while amateur Kamal Tamang, Deepak Magar and Bal Bhadra Rai were tied for sixth at four-over 74 in the  third even under Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. Sanjay Lama was ninth place at 75 and amateur Mithun Rai in 10th at 

six-over 76.

The Royal Nepal Golf Club pro Thapa shot two-over 37 on the front nine and three-under 32 on the back nine. The leader had a double bogey on the second and saved pars on eight other holes in his first nine card. On his way back, Thapa sank birdies on the 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes against another double bogey on the 13th hole.

Top ranked Shrestha carded two-under 37 on the front nine and two-under 33 on the back nine. He dropped shots on the first, third and sixth holes against a birdie on the ninth. On the back nine, Shrestha dropped a shot on the 12th against birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes.

Dhana Bahadur sank two birdies in his first nine card of two-under 33. But he failed to replicate his form in the back nine and ended up shooting two-over 37 with four bogeys against two birdies. Nagarkoti shot one-over 36 on the front nine and one-under 34 on the back nine. Nagarkoti dropped shots on the fifth and 18th against birdies on the 10th and 17th holes.

Kamal Tamang leads the amateur category with four-over 74. Tamang shot four-over 39 in his front nine but improved on even-par 35 in his back nine holes. Mithun Rai was two strokes behind Tamang at 76 and Yubraj Bhujel third at 78.

In all, 41 golfers—28 pros and 13 amateurs—are taking part in the 54-hole event organised by Nepal Professional Golfers Association. Cut will be applied after second round with top 21 pros and six amateurs to compete in the final 18 holes. The eventual champion will receive a cheque for Rs 110,000 in the Rs 600,000 tournament. The first runner-up will get Rs 70,000 and the second runner-up will earn Rs 45,000. All pros to make the cut are also assured of their share of cash prizes.