Shivaram Shrestha opened up a four-stroke lead over Dhana Thapa after the second round of the Surya Nepal Western Open at the par-70 Himalayan Gold Course in Pokhara on Thursday.

The top-ranked Nepal pro carded three-under 67 for the two-round score of three-under 137. Thapa shot one-over 71 for a total card of one-over 141 in the third event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. Bhuwan Nagarkoti was in third at two-over 142 after shooting two-over 72 on Thursday. Alone at fourth was Sanjay Lama who carded two-under 68 for a total of three-over 143. Deepak Magar turned in even-par 70 for a total of four-over 144 and in fifth position. 

Local pro Bhu Bahadur Gurung back-to-back three-over 73 for a total of six-over 146 and was in sixth place. Amateur Kamal Tamang shot three-over 73 to lead the amateur category and seventh overall with a total card of seven-over 147. Overnight leader Rabi Khadka, who shot eight-over 78, was tied with Tamang. Surya Prasad Sharma carded one-under 69 for a total of eight-over 148 to be in ninth place, while Jayaram Shrestha (70) and Bal Bhadra Rai (75) complete the top 10 at nine-over 149. Amateurs Mithun Rai (79) and Yubraj Bhujel (77) are eight shots behind leader Kamal Tamang at 15-over 155.

Shrestha shot an even-par 35 in his front nine with birdies on third and ninth holes against a bogeys on fifth and eighth holes. In his back nine holes, the leader sank birdies on 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th holes against a lone bogey on last hole for three-under 32.

Thapa carded even-par 35 on the first nine with a birdie on fifth hole against bogey on the sixth hole. On his way back, Thapa sank birdies on 10th and 15th holes but dropped a shot on 16th before a double-bogey on 18th hole for one-over 36. Nagarkoti scored two-over 37 on the front nine and even-par 35 on the back nine. Lama sank birdies on third and sixth holes against bogeys on fifth and seventh holes for even-par 35 on the first half. He scored two-under 33 on the second half with the help of birdies on 10th and 16th holes.

In all, 27 golfers survived the cut including six amateurs, who will play the 18-hole final round on Friday. A total of 41 golfers including 28 pros were in fray for the title in the tournament organised by Nepal PGA.