Bishnu Sharma climbed to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open, the second event under Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2024-25, at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Wednesday.

Sharma carded 4-under 64 for 36-hole total of 7-under 129. He is one stroke ahead of defending champion Niraj Tamang, who remained at the second place after carding second consecutive 3-under 65 for 6-under 130.

Nepal number one amateur Sadbhav Acharya carded 3-under 65 to move up to overall third position at 5-under 131.

Dinesh Prajapati is fourth at 4-under 132 after he carded a bogey-free 5-under 63.

Overnight leader Jayram Shrestha played 2-over 70 and slipped to fifth at 2-under 134.

Veteran pro Deepak Magar and amateur Rahul BK are tied for sixth at 1-under 135. Magar played 1-under 67 and BK carded 3-under 65.

Dhana Bahadur Thapa and number one pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti share the eighth position at 1-over 137. Thapa carded 4-under 64 and Nagarkoti shot 3-under 65.

Rabi Khadka (68) and Pradip Kumar Lama (70) are tied for 10th place at 2-over 138.

Cut was applied at 13-over 149 and 22 pros and six amateurs made it to the final two rounds. Rame Magar, Basanta Raj Gurung, Toran Bikram Shahi, Ramesh Adhikari, Sanjay Lama, Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan, Kishan Kaliraj Sunar, Bal Bhadra Rai, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka, Tanka Bahadur Karki, Surya Prasad Sharma, Shivram Poudel and Bhimsen Chaulagain made the cut in pro section.

Leader Sharma took the turn at a bogey-free 5-under 29 and played 1-over 35 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the first, second and seventh hole and sank an eagle on the fourth hole. He then faced a bogey on the 10th hole and saved pars on eight other holes.

Defending champion Tamang carded 1-under 33 and shot 2-under 32 on the back nine. He began the round with an eagle on the first hole and carded a birdie on the fifth. But he faced bogeys on the second and sixth holes. After the turn, Tamang dropped a shot on the 10th hole before sinking the second eagle of the day on the 13th hole and carded a birdie on the 17th hole.

Amateur Acharya carded four birdies on the first, fourth, fifth and eighth holes and faced bogeys on the second and seventh holes to take the turn at 2-under 32. Acharya carded a birdie on the 17th hole and saved pars on eight holes to end the back nine at 1-under 33.

Pro Prajapati carded five birdies on the first, second, fourth, eighth and 10th holes on his way to producing the best card of the day.

Acharya is four strokes ahead of BK in the amateur section. Balram Poudel, Kabi Thapa, Hari Bahadur Thapa and Gyan Bahadur Dhenga are other golfers who made the cut in the amateur section.

A total of 45 golfers—33 pros and 12 amateurs—are taking part in the tournament.

The event boasts a total prize purse of Rs735,500. The winner will take home Rs125,000, while the runner-up will earn Rs85,000. The third place golfer will receive Rs68,000, while the fourth and fifth place players will be rewarded with Rs55,000 and Rs48,000, respectively. Other pros in top 21 will also receive their share of cash prizes.