Rame Magar opened up a two-stroke lead after carding a scintillating five-under 63 in the third round of the Surya Nepal Challenge at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC) on Thursday.

Rame was two strokes ahead of Bhuwan Nagarkoti, who also shot a 63 to leapfrog into title contention, with three three-round card of five-under 199. Amateur golfer Subash Tamang was in third at 202 after shooting one-over 69, while overnight leader Bhuwan Kumar Rokka shot three-over 71 to fall in a share of fourth with Bikash Adhikari (66) at one-under 203. Rabi Khadka, who shot a 70, and Dinesh Prajapati, who carded a 69, share the sixth place at 206. Ram Krishna Shrestha carded one-over 69 and was next at 207. Jayaram Shrestha (72) and Sanjay Lama (71) were in a tie for ninth at four-over 208.

Subash Tamang is the runaway leader in the amateur category with the score of two-under 202. Binod Tamang, who carded a 76) was in a distant second at 212. Tanka Bahadur Karki was next at 214 after carding one-over 69 on Thursday.

Rame Magar carded two-under 32 on the front nine and three-under 31 on the back nine. He started off with back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes before adding another shot on the fourth. His front nine card included a bogey on the seventh. On the back nine, Rame sank an eagle on the 10th to add to birdies on the 11th, 13th and 14th holes. He also had a double bogey on the 16th.

Amateur Subash Tamang shot one-over 35 on the front nine and even-par 34 on the back nine. He sank birdies on the second and fifth holes against a bogey on the fourth and a double bogey on the first. On the back nine, he sank a birdie on the 13th against a lone bogey on the 17th. Defending champion Nagarkoti carded two-under 32 on the front nine and three-under 31 on the back nine. His bogey-free third round included birdies on the fourth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 16th holes.

In all 27 golfers-21 pros and six amateurs-make the cut for the final two rounds from the original field for 40 players. Organised by the Nepal Professional Golfers Association, the tournament offers Rs 441,000 in total prize money. The champion will earn Rs 84,000, runner-up will get Rs 53,000 and third-place golfer will receive Rs 37,000.