Shrestha lands 45th career title

Kathmandu, December 26

Former Nepal No 1 pro Shivaram Shrestha won the Surya Nepal Central Open to claim his 45th career title here at the Gokarna Golf Club today.

Defending champion Shrestha carded second straight four-under 68 to post the 14-under 274 total and registered a 15-stroke victory over Sukra Bahadur Rai, who came second in his debut event.

Along with the 43rd title under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour, Shrestha earned Rs 125,000, while runner-up Rai received Rs 80,000. Shrestha had won the Surya Nepal Western Open as an amateur golfer in 2005 and bagged the CMS Open in 2007 before the Surya Nepal Golf Tour began in 2008.

“It was an easy victory at the end and I did not really enjoy the final round,” said Shrestha, who was at the eighth position after playing a round of oneover 73 on the first day. “I was confident of bouncing back as this is my favourite course and the second round score of seven-under 65 made all the difference,” he added.

Shrestha, who had a comfortable eight-stroke lead over fellow RNGC pro Rabi Khadka going into the final round, never faced any challenge in the final round. He began the day with three consecutive birdies and added another on the sixth. He took the turn at three-under 33 after dropping a shot on the eighth hole.

On his way to finishing the back nine at one-under 35, Shrestha faced bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes against three birdies on the 11th, 12th and 17th holes.

Rai moved to second position after he carded two-under 70 in the final round, finishing ahead of Rabi Khadka, who faltered to five-over 77 to slip to third with the total score of three-over 291. Rai carded two-under 34 on the front nine and played even-par 36 on the latter half. After dropping a shot on the fourth hole, Rai carded birdies on the fifth, seventh and ninth before taking the turn. He then faced a bogey on the 10th and carded a birdie on the 17th hole. Khadka, who faced five bogeys and a double bogey against two birdies, earned Rs 58,000.

Army pro Dhana Bahadur Thapa (73) finished fourth at 294 earning Rs 47,000, while Nepal No 1 pro Bhuwan Nagarkoti faltered to five-over 77 to finish fifth at eight-over 296.

He received Rs 40,000. Rame Magar slipped to sixth at 297 after he faltered to seven-over 79, one stroke ahead of his brother Deepak Thapa Magar (78). They earned Rs 36,000 and Rs 33,000 respectively.

Sanjay Lama (79) was eight at 299, while Jayaram Shrestha (77) shared the ninth position at 299 with newly-turned pros Tanka Bahadur Karki (81) and Bipin Tamang. They earned Rs 26,167 each.

Subash Tamang lifted the amateur section title despite faltering to nine-over 81. The 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist Tamang posted 14-over 302 and finished eight shots ahead of Ritesh Tamang, who played 12- over 84.

A record number of 43 pros along with four amateur golfers took part in the 72-hole event that carried a cash purse of Rs 700,000. Brand Manager of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, Keshav Pradhan and Nepal PGA Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa gave away prizes to the winners.

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