By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Nepal won the team event gold medal of the 9th Nepal Amateur Open at the par-72 Gokarna Forest Golf Resort on Monday.
The Nepali team of Subash Tamang and Sadbhav Acharya carded 17-under 271 in the 36-hole competition to register a 14-stroke victory over India. Nepal No 1 Subash carded four-under 68 in the second round and Sadbhav carded a bogey-free three-under 69 for the second-day score of seven-under 137. They had carded 10-under 134 in the first round. Subash and Sadbhav won the team event gold medal in Bangladesh Amateur Open Golf Championship in March.
India’s Sumit Kotwal and Suraj Joshi came second with a total score of three under 285. Sumit produced the best card of the day at eight-under 64, while Suraj played two-over 74 for the score of six-under 138. They were in the fourth position with a score of three over 147 in the first round.
Bhutan came third at five-over 293. Ugen Dorji carded one-under 71, while Karma Dorji Khorko faltered to eight-over 80 in the second round for a score of seven-over 151. The Bhutanese team was second at two-under 142 in the first round.
In the men’s individual section, India’s Sumit Kotwal moved to the top with a score of 12-under 132 after he carded a bogey-free eight-under 64 in the second round for a two-stroke lead after 36 holes. Overnight leader, Nepal’s Subash Tamang slipped to second despite carding four-under 68 for the 36-hole total of 10-under 134. Another Nepali golfer, Sadbhav Acharya carded a bogey-free three-under 69 and fell one place down to third with a total score of seven-under 137.
Bhutan’s Ugen Dorji is fourth at four under 140 after he carded one under 71, while Nepal’s Tashi Tsering (71) and India’s Varun Muthappa (69) shared the fifth position at two under 142. Likewise, Nepal’s Wangchen Dhondup (71) and Bangladesh’s Md Sumon were tied for seventh at one over 145, whereas Pakistan’s Umair Saleem (73) and Nepal’s Tashi Dong (75) shared the ninth position at five over 149.
Leader Sumit, who shared the second position with Sadbhav after the first round, carded four-under 32 on both halves. He took the turn after carding four birdies on the second, third, fourth, and seventh holes and added four more birdies on the 10th, 14th, 15th, and 18th holes on the back nine.
Subash played one-under 35 on the front nine and carded three-under 33 on the back nine. He faced a bogey on the first hole but bounced back with an eagle on the third and a birdie on the seventh hole. But Subash dropped a shot on the eighth hole. He then played a bogey-free back nine with the help of birdies on the 11th, 14th, and 18th holes.
Sadbhav carded three-under 33 on the front nine and played even-par 36 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the third, seventh, and eighth holes and Sadbhav saved pars on all nine holes on the back nine.
In the women’s individual section, Kashmira Shah surged at the top of the leaderboard at 14-over 158 after she played eight-over 80 in the second round. Overnight leader Sushma Sigdel slipped to second at 17-over 161 after she played 12-over 84. Aaiesteena Tanadan (86) was third at 40-over 184.
A total of 51 golfers 44 men and seven women are taking part in the 54-hole tournament organised jointly by Nepal Golf Association and Nepal Tourism Board. The top 30 players survived the cut including 14 Nepali golfers which was applied at 20-over 164. The event is supported by National Sports Council, Bagmati Province Sports Development Board, Gokarna Forest Resort, and Hotel Royal Singi.
