Sukra Bahadur Rai pulled off a six stroke victory to claim Surya Nepal Premier Golf Championship for his third title of the season at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Rai played a card of three-under 69 in the final round to post a total score of 19-under 269 and bag his seventh major title overall. He finished ahead of fellow Dharan pro Niraj Tamang, who played the worst round of the event with a card of two-over 74 for the 72-hole score of 13-under 275.

Winner Rai bagged a check of Rs250,000 and also became the new No 1 pro with the total earning of Rs 663,500. Runner up Tamang collected Rs155,000. Top pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti played two-under 70 on the final day and finished third with a total score of 12-under 276. Bhuwan, who has earlier won two events in the tour, received Rs110,000 and finished second in the order of merit with the season’s earning of Rs580,500.

Wangchen Dhondup, who played one-over 73, was fourth overall and also won the amateur section title with the total score of 11-under 277. Mahendra Phagami played three-under 69 and came second in the amateur section at 10-under 278. He was fifth overall.

Top amateur Subash Tamang finished sixth overall with the total score of seven-under 281 along with pro Purna Prasad Sharma. While Tamang played a card of five-under 67 Sharma scored even-par 72.

Sharma finished fourth among pros and received Rs95,000. Tamang, the twin gold medalists at the 2019 South Asian Games, has won two events under the Tour but is ineligible for cash prize due to his amateur status.

Indian amateur Aarav D Shah played a card of even-par 72 and was eighth overall at five-under 283. Amateur golfer Sadbhav Acharya, who posted two-under 286, was overall 11th.

Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (74) and Rabi Khadka (73) were jointly at fifth position among pros and earned Rs83,500 each.

Surya Prasad Sharma (76) was seventh with a total score of even-par 288 and got Rs73,000. Rajendra Thapa Magar (74) and Dinesh Prajapati (70) shared the eighth position at 290 and bagged Rs65,500 each. Five pros—Dhana Bahadur Thapa (77), Bishnu Prasad Sharma (75), Sanjay Lama (74), Bal Bhadra Rai (73) and Rame Magar (73)—finished jointly in 10th position at four-over 292. They all collected Rs50,600 each.

Winner Rai, who came into the final round with a single-stroke lead over Tamang, extended the lead to two strokes after the front nine with a card of one-under 35 while Tamang played even-par before taking the turn. At the back nine, Rai played two-under 34 while Tamang faltered to two-over 38.

Jayaram Shrestha, the winner of the season-opening Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open, finished third in order of merit with a total earning of Rs 474,500 after he secured 15th spot among pros.

Meanwhile, Nepal Professional Golfers Association (NPGA) also felicitated its member and referee Ramesh Nagarkoti, staffers Ramji Shrestha Rajbahak and Samir Tamang for their contribution in the Tour events.

A total of 43 pros and 11 amateurs competed in the Championship, the eighth and final event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2021-22. The event offered a total cash prize of Rs1.461 million.

Dipra Lahiri, the marketing vice president of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, president Rabindra Man Shrestha and Nepal Golf Association President Tashi Ghale gave away prizes to the winners.