By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal No 1 amateur golfer Subash Tamang moved to the top of the leaderboard after the third round of the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship, the seventh event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23, at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Wednesday.
Defending champion Subash carded three-under 69 on the third day for the 54-hole total score of 10-under 206. He is two strokes ahead of overnight joint leader Sanjay Lama. Sanjay played an even-par 72 in the third round for a total score of eight under 208.
Rabi Khadka moved up to the third position at six-under 210 after he carded a four-under 68 that included a Hole-in-One on the par-3 eighth hole. Former top pro-Bhuvan Nagarkoti also carded four-under 68 to climb up to fourth place with a score of five-under 211.
Overnight joint leader, amateur golfer Sadbhav Acharya faltered to four-over 76 and he slipped to fifth place at four-under 212. Niraj Tamang played one-over 73 and slipped to sixth at two-under 214, while Kamal Tamang was seventh at one-over 217 after he played one-over 73.
Jayram Shrestha (69) and Ramesh Adhikari (72) share the eighth position at two-over 218, whereas amateur Tashi Tsering carded four-under 68 to move up and share the 10th position at three-over 219 with pro-Bhu Bahadur Gurung (74). Toran Bikram Shahi is in 12th position with a score of 220 after he played two over 74.
Leader Subash carded one under 35 on the front nine and cared two under 34 on the back nine. He began the round with a birdie on the first hole but faced bogeys on the second and fourth holes. He bounced back with birdies on the sixth and seventh holes. After taking the turn, the 13th South Asian Games double gold medalist Subash carded birdies on the 10th, 12th, and 18th holes and dropped a shot on the 16th hole.
Sanjay faltered to three-over 39 on the front nine and carded three-under 33 on the back nine. He faced bogeys on the second, fourth, and sixth holes before taking the turn. Sanjay then carded four birdies on the 11th, 12th, 15th, and 17th holes and dropped a shot on the 18th hole.
Rabi carded five-under 31 on the front nine but he played one-over 37 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the first three holes to make a flying start before dropping a shot on the fourth hole. He then carded the fourth birdies on the sixth hole and shot Hole-in-One on the par-3 eighth hole. Rabi dropped shots on the 13th and 14th holes against a lone birdie on the 15th hole.
Out of the total 40 golfers, 21 pros and eight amateurs are playing in the last two rounds of the tournament organized by PGA Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. The event carries a cash purse of Rs 800,000. The winner of the event will bag Rs 140,000, the runner-up will earn Rs 90,000, and the third-place winner will get Rs 67,000. Other pros in the top 21 will earn their share of cash prizes.
