By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Dhana Bahadur Thapa surged to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Surya Nepal Challenge, the sixth event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23 at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Wednesday.
Dhana carded four-under 64 for the 36-hole total score of three-under 133 and he is one stroke ahead of Bhuwan Kumar Rokka and overnight leader Rabi Khadka. Bhuwan carded one-under 67 and Rabi faltered to three-over 71 in the second round.
Amateurs Sadbhav Acharya and Subash Tamang share the fourth position at 135 with pros Deepak Magar and Dinesh Prajapati. Sadbhav carded two-under 66, while Subash played even-par 68. Deepak shot one-over 69 and Dinesh faltered to three-over 71.
Bhuvan Nagarkoti is in eighth position with a score of even-par 136 after he played two-over 70, while amateur Yubraj Bhujel and Shivaram Poudel share a ninth place at four-over 140. Both Yubraj and Shivaram played three over 71.
Surya Prasad Sharma (73) and Rame Magar are in 11th position at 141, while Sanjay Lama (69) is in 13th place at 142.
Amateur Tashi Tsering (67) share the 14th position with pros Tanka Bahadur Karki (68), Ramesh Adhikari (69), and Ram Krishna Shrestha (72). Kamal Tamang, Jayram Shrestha, Pradip Kumar Lama, Prabhat Kumar Rajbahak, Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan, Sanjok Moktan, Basanta Raj Gurung, and Krishna Man Rajbahak survived the cut that was applied at 15-over 151. Suresh Tamang and Nischaya Jung Rayamajhi made the cut in the amateur section.
Leader Dhana played one under 31 on the front nine and carded three under 31 on the back nine. He moved eight places up to the top after the second round. Dhana made a flying start to the day with an eagle on the par-5 first hole but he dropped a shot on the next hole. He then faced a double bogey on the fifth hole. He bounced back with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes. After taking the turn, Dhana sank an eagle on the 10th and carded a birdie on the 17th hole.
Bhuwan Rokka carded two-under 32 on the front nine and played one-over 35 on the back nine. He carded a birdie on the first hole but faced a double bogey on the third hole. He came back strongly and sank an eagle on the fourth hole and carded a birdie on the fifth hole. After taking the turn, Bhuwan carded a birdie on the 10th hole but he faced a double bogey on the 17th hole.
Overnight leader Rabi carded one-under 33 on the front nine but he faltered to four-over 38 on the back nine. He made a flying start with birdies on the first and second holes and added another on the fourth hole. He dropped a shot on the third to take the turn at one-under 33. On the back nine, Rabi sank an eagle on the 10th hole but he faced three bogeys on the 11th, 12th, and 18th holes and suffered a triple bogey on the 13th hole.
Amateur Sadbhav played even-par 34 on the front nine before carding two-under 32 on the back nine. He began the day with a birdie and ended the front nine with a bogey. After taking the turn, Sadbhav carded birdies on the 13th and 18th for a bogey-free back nine.
The tournament organized by the Professional Golfers Association Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd carries a cash purse of Rs 545,000. The top three pros will receive Rs 100,000, Rs 65,000, and Rs 46,000 respectively. Other pros in the top 21 will also earn their share of cash prizes.
