Dinesh Prajapati won the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play, the third event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23, at the Royal Nepal Golf Club on Thursday.

Seventh seed Prajapati defeated 13th-ranked Ramesh Adhikari 7 & 6 in the 36-hole final to claim his maiden major title on the Tour. He received Rs 60,000. Runner-up Adhikari got Rs 42,000.

Prajapati lost the first hole, but bounced back to take a 4-hole lead in the first nine holes and doubled the lead after the completion of 18 holes.

After the lunch break, Adhikari reduced the deficit to four holes by winning the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd holes.

Prajapati won the 23rd but Adhikari took the 24th and 25th holes to cut the deficit to three holes.

Prajapati won the next two holes to restore a five-hole lead after completion of 27 holes. After sharing the 28th hole, Prajapati won the next two holes to complete the victory.

Earlier, the eighth seed Dhana Bahadur Thapa beat No 10 Bhuwan Kumar Rokka on the first extra hole to finish third. The match went to the playoffs after both pros were tied on regulation 18 holes. Thapa earned Rs 32,000 and Rokka bagged a purse of Rs 24,000.

The tournament, organised by PGA Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, carried a cash purse of Rs 250,000.

Four losing quarter-finalists—Sukra Bahadur Rai, Bhuvan Nagarkoti, Jayaram Shrestha and Rabi Khadka—took home Rs 11,000 each.

The eight pros who were eliminated from the first round—Tanka Bahadur Karki, Sanjog Moktan, Krishna Man Rajbahak, Pradeep Kumar Lama, Sanjay Lama, Surya Prasad Sharma, Bal Bhadra Rai and Rame Magar—cashed Rs 6,000 each.

Marketing Manager of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Keshav Pradhan and Brand Manager Bidur Raj Adhikari handed over the prizes to the winners.