Amateur golfer Sadbhav Acharya extended his lead to three strokes after the third round of the Surya Nepal Challenge, the fifth event under Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2023-24, at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Wednesday.

Defending champion Acharya carded 4-under 64 for 54-hole total of 7-under 197. He is three strokes ahead of former Nepal number one pro Rabi Khadka, who carded 3-under 65 and remained at the second position with a total score of 4-under 200.

Former top pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti jumped to third at 3-under 201 after he produced the best card of the day at 5-under 63.

Dhana Bahadur Thapa slipped to fourth at 2-under 202 after he carded even-par 68, while Deepak Magar carded 3-under 65 and climbed up to fifth place at even-par 204. Sanjay Lama moved up to sixth at 2-over 206 after he carded 4-under 64. Bishnu Prasad Sharma carded 4-under 64 to jump up to seventh at 3-over 207.

Amateur Tashi Tsering and pro Rame Magar shared the eighth place at 4-over 208. Tsering, who is second in amateur section, carded 2-under 66, while first-round leader Rame faltered to 5-over 73. Three pros, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka, Jayram Shrestha and Dinesh Prajapati shared the 10th position at 5-over 209.

Leader Acharya carded 2-under 32 on both halves. He faced a bogey on the first hole after an OB (out of bounds) in the day’s first shot but he bounced back strongly with a birdie on the second and an eagle on the fourth hole. He dropped a shot on the fifth hole and carded second birdie of the day on the seventh hole. After taking the turn, Acharya carded three birdies on the 10th, 15th and 18th holes and faced a lone bogey on the 13th hole.

Khadka, who is first among pros, took the turn at 1-under 33 after he carded a birdie on the fourth and saved pars on eight holes. On the back nine, he carded 2-under 32. He faced a bogey on the 12th hole before carding three birdies on the 13th, 14th and 16th holes.

Nagarkoti took the turn at 4-under 30 and carded 1-under 33 on the back nine. He carded four birdies on the first, fourth, eighth and ninth holes in a bogey-free front nine. After taking the turn, Nagarkoti carded birdies on the 10th and 17th holes before facing the lone bogey of the day on the 18th hole.

Army Club pro Thapa carded 1-under 33 on the front nine and played 1-over 35 on the back nine. He dropped shots on the fourth, 17th and 18th holes against birdies on the third, eighth and 13th holes.