Rame Magar shot three-over 71 but that was still enough for him to retain the lead after the second round of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open on Wednesday.
Rame Magar shot three-over 71 but that was still enough for him to retain the lead after the second round of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open on Wednesday.
Played at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC), Magar finished the second day at four-under 132 total in the fifth tournament held under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2016-17. Magar had shot seven-under 61 on the first day. Surya Prasad Sharma, who produced the best card of the day scoring three-under 65, was two stroke adrift
in second with two-under 134 total. Sanjay Lama (71) and Bhuwan Nagarkoti (73) were tied for the third at two-over 138.
Nepal No 1 Shivaram Shrestha (71) is fifth at 139, while Bikash Adhikari (71), Dhana Bahadur Thapa (71) and Krishna Man Rajbahak (72) shared the sixth place at 140. Pashupati Sharma (70), Yelamber Singh Adhikari (73) and Rabi Khadka (70) are at ninth position with the score of six-over 142. Cut was applied at 17-over 153 and top 22 pros and six amateur golfers made it to the final two rounds.
Magar started sank a birdie in the first and fifth holes against a double bogey on the ninth and further dropped shots on the second and fifth to take the turn at two-over 36. The leader carded one-over 35 on the back nine that included a bogey on the 15th hole.
Sharma shot three-under 31 on the front nine with the help of an eagle on the fourth, birdies on the second and ninth along with a bogey on the seventh hole. He played even-par 34 on the back nine as he sank birdies on the 10th and 16th against a double bogey on the 15th hole.
Lama shot one-over 35 on the front nine and added two-over 36 on the back nine, while Bhuwan Nagarkoti played two-over 36 on the front nine and shot three-over 37 on the back nine holes. Top-ranked Nepali golfer Shivaram carded four-over 38 on the front nine and one-under 33 on the back nine.
In amateur section, Basanta Raj Gurung maintained the lead at eight-over 144 after carding a five-over 73 in the second round. Sukra Bahadur Rai (74) is in second at 10-over 146, while Tanka Bahadur Karki (71) is third at 148. Phuntsok Lama, Tenzing Tsering and Bipin Tamang are the other three amateurs to survive the cut.
In all, 40 golfers—29 pros and 11 amateurs—took part in two rounds. The tournament carries a total prize money of Rs 500,000. The champion will get Rs 85,000, runner-up will receive Rs 58,000 and third-placed golfer will take home Rs 45,000. Other pros to make the cut are all assured of their share of cash rewards.
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