Shivaram Shrestha won the Surya Nepal Western Open golf tournament with a nine-stroke victory over his nearest rival Bhuwan Nagarkoti at the par-70 Himalayan Golf Course on Friday.

The top-ranked Nepali golfer Shrestha shot six-under 64 in the third and final round for a total score of nine-under 201 in the third event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. Shrestha also set two new records at the course. He bettered his own previous course record of five-under by one shot, while he also broke Dhana Thapa’s record of five-under winning total in 54-hole competition. It Shrestha’s 33rd tour titles. He received  Rs 110,000.

Nagarkoti finished with a total score of even-par 210 after carding two-under 68 on Friday. Nagarkoti took home Rs 70,000. Defending champion Dhana Bahadur Thapa carded one-over 71 to finish third at two-over 212 and earned Rs 50,000. Deepak Magar (72) and Rabi Khadka (69) shared the fourth place at 216. They received Rs 37,500 each. Sanjay Lama, Surya Prasad Sharma, Pashupati Sharma, Bhu Bahadur Gurung and Bal Bhadra Rai finished in top 10.

Kamal Tamang won the amateur title with a total score of 11-over 221 after he posting four-over 74 on Friday. Yub Raj Bhujel ended up in second on countback after tying with Mithun Rai at 234. Both Bhujel and Rai played nine-over 79 on final day.

The Royal Nepal Golf Club pro Shrestha opened the day four strokes ahead of Dhana, who cut the deficit to three with one-under 34 on the front nine after Shrestha played even-par 35. But Shrestha lived up to his top billing by firing a six-under 29 on the back nine as Dhana slipped to third after his two-over 37 on the back nine. Nagarkoti sneaked into second with 36 and 32. Shrestha’s front nine card included a birdie on the fourth and a bogey on the ninth. On the flawless back nine holes, Shrestha sank six birdies to finish as a runaway champion.

Nagarkoti dropped a shot on the ninth after saving pars on the first eight holes, while he sank an eagle on the 15th hole and carded birdies on the 11th and 17th holes. He dropped shot on the 12th hole. Dhana sank birdies on the third, eighth, 15th and 18th holes against bogeys on the ninth, 10th and 12th holes and a double bogey on the 11th hole.

In all, 41 golfers took part in the tournament organised by Nepal PGA. The tournament concludes with the Pro-Am tournament on Saturday.