Subash Tamang became the second amateur golfer to clinch the professional title this season after winning the Surya Nepal Challenge at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC) on Friday.

Tamang shot three-under 65 in the fourth and final round on Friday for a total card of five-under 267. He edged out Bhuwan Nagarkoti by just one stroke as the defending champion carded one-under 68 in the sixth event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2018-19. Tamang lifted the champion’s trophy but Nagarkoti collected the top prize of 84,000 as amateurs are not entitled to receive cash rewards.

Subash joined fellow amateur Sukra Bahadur Rai to win the pro title this season. Rai had won Surya Nepal Eastern Open, the third event of the tour. Current Nepal No 1 Shivaram Shrestha, who is skipped this tournament, was the first to achieve the feat when he won the Surya Nepal Western Open in 2005. Rupak Acharya, who currently resides in the United States of America, was the second when he clinched the Surya Nepal Central Open in 2010.

At the age of 16, Tamang also went into the record books as the youngest champion of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour since its inception in 2008. He also took home the amateur category trophy with a whopping 17-stroke margin against Tanka Bahadur Karki. Karki shot three-over 71 for a total card of 12-over 284. Rahul BK ended up third at 287 in the amateur category.

In a bogey-free final round, Tamang carded one-under 33 on the front nine and two-under 32 on the back nine. He began the day with a birdie and saved pars on eight consecutive holes. On the back nine, he sank birdies on the 16th and 17th holes. Nagarkoti shot even-par 34 on the front nine and one-under 67 on the back nine. Nagarkoti sank a birdie on the fifth against a bogey on the ninth. He had a bogey on the 10th but made amends with birdies on the 11th and 17th holes.

Dinesh Prajapati, meanwhile, finished second among the professionals with the score of one-under 271 and received Rs 53,000. Rame Magar was third at even-par 272 and got Rs 37,500. Bikash Adhikari finished fourth at 273 and he received Rs 28,000, while the first round leader Bhuwan Kumar Rokka finished fifth at 274 and got Rs 24,000.

Krishna Man Rajbahak finished in sixth at 275 and former No 1 pro Rabi Khadka seventh at four-over 276. Ram Krishna Shrestha and Sanjay Lama finished tied for eighth at 277, while Jayaram Shrestha, Surya Prasad Sharma and Dhana Bahadur Thapa shared the 10th place at nine-over 281.

In all 27 golfers-21 pros and six amateurs-had made the cut for the final two rounds from the original field of 40 players. Organised by the Nepal Professional Golfers Association, the tournament offered Rs 441,000 in total prize money.