Surya Nepal Western Open begins

Sukra and Sanjay share the lead 

Pokhara, April 7th: Sukra Bahadur Rai and Sanjay Lama share the lead after the first round of the Surya Nepal Western Open at the Par-69 Himalayan Golf Course on Tuesday. Sukra and Sanjay both carded one-under 68. Bal Bhadra Rai carded even-par 69. Bhuwan Nagarkoti and Amateur Subash Tamang scored one-over 70.  

Binod Tamang and Surya Prasad Sharma carded two-over 71. Defending champion Dhana Bahadur Thapa, Niraj Tamang, Basanta Raj Gurung, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka and amateur Ritesh Tamang are at three-over 72.  

Sukra scored even-par 34 on the front nine with birdies on first and third against bogeys on second and fourth holes. On the back nine, he carded birdies on 13th and 18th against bogey on the 12th hole for one-under 34. 

Sanjay carded one-under 33 on the front nine with birdies on first and seventh hole against bogey on fifth hole. On the back nine, he saved all pars for even-par 35. 

Bal Bhadra scored birdie on fifth against bogey on ninth hole for even-par 34 on the front nine. On the back nine, he made birdies on 11th and 18th against drop shots on 12th and 16th for even-par 35. 

Bhuwan carded even-par 34 on the front nine after opening with bogey on the first hole and birdie on the sixth hole. On the back nine, he made birdies on 15th and 17th holes but dropped shots on 12th, 13th and 18th holes for one-over 36. 

Subash scored two-over 36 on the front nine with birdie on ninth against drop-shots on first, fifth and eighth holes. On the back nine, he carded one-under 34 with birdies on 10th and 15th holes against bogey on 13th hole.  

Total of 51 golfers 37 pros and 14 amateurs are taking part in the third event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2020-21. The tournament is organized by Nepal Professional Golfers Association under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. Cut will be applied after the second round with top 21 pros and six amateurs making the cut for the final two rounds. Also, the amateur who survive the pro-cut score will be eligible to play the final round. The total cash purse of the tournament is Rs 735,000. The top three pros will receive Rs 130,000, Rs 84,000 and Rs 60,000 respectively.