Dhana Bahadur Thapa surged to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Surya Nepal Challenge, the sixth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23, at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Wednesday.

Thapa carded four-under 64 for the 36-hole total score of three-under 133 for a one-stroke lead over Bhuwan Kumar Rokka and overnight leader Rabi Khadka. Rokka carded one-under 67 and Khadka faltered to three-over 71.

Amateurs Sadbhav Acharya and Subash Tamang share the fourth position at 135 with pros Deepak Magar and Dinesh Prajapati. Acharya carded two-under 66 while Tamang played even-par 68. Magar shot one-over 69 and Prajapati faltered to three-over 71.

Bhuvan Nagarkoti is in the eighth position with the score of even-par 136 after he played two-over 70, while amateur Yubraj Bhujel and Shivaram Paudel share the ninth place at four-over 140. Both Bhujel and Paudel played three-over 71.

Surya Prasad Sharma (73) and Rame Magar are at 11th position at 141, while Sanjay Lama (69) is at 13th place at 142.

Amateur Tashi Tsering (67) shares the 14th position with pros Tanka Bahadur Karki (68), Ramesh Adhikari (69) and Ram Krishna Shrestha (72).

Kamal Tamang, Jayram Shrestha, Pradip Kumar Lama, Prabhat Kumar Rajbahak, Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan, Sanjok Moktan, Basanta Raj Gurung and Krishna Man Rajbahak survived the cut that was applied at 15-over 151. Suresh Tamang and Nischaya Jung Rayamajhi made the cut in the amateur section.

Leader Thapa played one-under 31 on the front nine and carded three-under 31 on the back nine to eight places up to the top after the second round. Thapa made a flying start with an eagle on the par-5 first hole but dropped a shot on the next hole. He then faced a double bogey on the fifth hole before bouncing back with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes. After taking the turn, Thapa sank an eagle on the 10th and carded a birdie on the 17th hole.

Rokka carded two-under 32 on the front nine and played one-over 35 on the back nine. He carded a birdie on the first hole but faced a double bogey on the third. But he came back strong and sank an eagle in the fourth hole and carded a birdie on the fifth. After taking the turn, Rokka carded a birdie on the 10th hole but faced a double bogey on the 17th.

Overnight leader Khadka carded one-under 33 on the front nine but faltered to four-over 38 on the back nine. He made a flying start with birdies on the first and second hole and added another on the fourth hole. But he dropped a shot on the third to take the turn at one-under 33. On the back nine, Khadka sank an eagle on the 10th hole but faced three bogeys on the 11th, 12th and 18th holes and suffered a triple bogey on the 13th hole.

Amateur Acharya played even-par 34 on the front nine before carding two-under 32 on the back nine. He began the day with a birdie and ended the front nine with a bogey. After taking the turn, Acharya carded birdies on the 13th and 18th for a bogey-free back nine.

The tournament—organised by Professional Golfers Association Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd—carries a cash purse of Rs545,000. Top three pros will receive Rs100,000, Rs65,000 and Rs46,000, respectively. Other top 21 pros will also earn their share of cash prizes.