Toran Bikram Shahi took the lead after the first round as Surya Nepal Central Open, the first event under Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2024-25, kicked off at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Monday.

Shahi carded 5-under 67 to remain at the top of the leaderboard. He is one stroke ahead of Nepal number one pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti and Sunil KC. Nagarkoti and KC carded 4-under 68 each. Krishna Man Rajbahak is fourth at 3-under 69, while amateur Rahul BK is fifth after he carded 2-under 70.

Bhuwan Kumar Rokka and Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan share the sixth position at 1-under 71, while five pros Niraj Tamang, Dhana Bahadur Thapa, Ramesh Adhikari, Rajendra Thapa Magar and Pradip Kumar Lama are tied for eighth at even-par 72. Vijay Shrestha Einhaus is second among amateurs with the score of 1-over 73, three strokes behind leader BK. Defending champion and Nepal number one amateur golfer Sadbhav Acharya is third after he played 2-over 74.

First-round leader Shahi took the turn at 3-under 33 and carded 2-under 34 on the back nine. On the bogey-free front nine, Shahi carded birdies on the third, seventh and ninth holes. He dropped a shot on the 10th hole before carding three birdies on the 12th, 13th and 15th holes.

Nagarkoti carded bogey-free 3-under 33 on the front nine with the help of birdies on the first, third and seventh hole. He carded 1-under 35 on the back nine. Nagarkoti dropped shots on the 14th and 18th holes against three birdies in the 10th, 16th and 17th holes.

KC bounced back on the back nine carding 5-under 31 after he took the turn at 1-over 37. He faced two straight bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes before carding his first birdie of the day on the seventh hole. After taking the turn, KC carded four consecutive birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th holes before adding the fifth birdie on the 18th hole.

Amateur section leader BK played even-par 36 on the front nine and carded 2-under 34 on the back nine. He dropped a shot on the second hole and carded birdies on the third, 11th and 15th holes. Defending champion Acharya faltered to 4-over 40 on the front nine before recovering to 2-under 34 on the back nine.

A total of 47 golfers—34 pros and 13 amateurs—are taking part in the season-opening tournament. Cut will be applied after the second round with top 21 pros and amateurs making it to the final two days. Top three pros will receive Rs150,000, Rs100,000 and Rs75,000, respectively, while other pros in top 21 will get their share of cash prizes.