Shiva Ram Shrestha leapfrogged to reach the top of the leaderboard with a card of seven-under 65 at the second round of the Surya Nepal Central Open, the first event of Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2019-20, at the Gokarna Golf Club on Tuesday.

The No. 2 pro opened up a six-stroke lead against the overnight leader Bhuwan Nagarkoti and Sukra Bahadur Rai with a total of six-under 138 at the par-72 course. Shrestha, who started the day at the eighth position with one-over 73, played three-under 33 in the front nine and four-under 32 in the back nine.

The No.1 pro Nagarkoti played two-over 74 while newly turned pro Sukra Bahadur Rai carded even-par 72 for as they wrapped up the second day at even-par 144. Rame Magar (71), Rabi Khadka (73), Sanjay Lama (75) and Deepak Thapa Magar (75) are jointly at fourth place with one-over 145.

Shrestha birdied at the third, fourth, seventh and ninth hole against a lone bogey in the par-three fifth hole. After taking the turn, he birdied in the 11th, 12th, 13th,14th and 18th hole against a bogey in the par-five 15th hole.

Tanka Bahadur Karki and Ramesh Adhikari are at two-over 146. Karki turned in a card of three-over 75 and Adhikari played two-under 70. Bhuwan Kumar Rokka is at three-over 147 after a round of two-over 74. Amateur Subash Tamang (71), Dhana Bahadur Thapa (73) and Kumar Kami (77) are at four-over 148.

The cut was applied at nine-over 153 and 23 professionals and three amateurs survived the cut after the mid-way of the tournament. Other pros who made the cut are Jayaram Shrestha (149), Dinesh Prajapati (150), Pradeep Kumar Lama (150), Sachin Prasad Bhattarai (150), Pashupati Sharma (150), Bal Bhadra Rai (152), Krishna Man Rajbahak (152), Ram Krishna Shrestha (152), Bipin Tamang (153), Shivaram Poudel (153) and Sunil KC (153).

Amateur Ritesh Tamang is five-strokes behind Subash Tamang. Ritesh carded three-over 75 for a total of nine-over 153. Suresh Tamang (82) also survived the cut with at 163 as he stood third among the amateurs.

In all, 47 players — 43 pros and four amateurs — are taking part in the event. The tournament offers a total purse of Rs 700,000. The winner will bag Rs 125,000 while the runner-up will earn Rs 80,000. Professionals who have made the cut will have their share in the cash prizes.