By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Pro Rabi Khadka maintained his lead after the completion of the second round of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Wednesday.
Rabi carded four-under 64 on the second day to post the 36-hole total of 10-under 126 in the first event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23. He is one stroke ahead of Bhuvan Nagarkoti, who carded a bogey-free four-under 68 in the second round. Ramesh Nagarkoti carded his second straight one-under 67 for two-under 134 and climbed to third place.
Pradeep Kumar Lama, Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan, and Sukra Bahadur Rai stand fourth jointly at even-par 136. Pradeep and Rajendra carded one-under 66, while Nepal No 1 pro-Sukra played three-over 71.
Krishna Man Rajbahak is seventh at one-over 137 after he scored an even-par 68. Three pros, Surya Prasad Sharma (69), Jayram Shrestha (70), and Niraj Tamang (72) share the eighth place at two over 138.
Overnight leader Rabi carded three-under 31 on the front nine and played one under 33 on the back nine. He began the day with a birdie and added three more on the third, fourth, and sixth holes. He faced a bogey on the ninth before taking the turn. On the back nine, Rabi dropped a shot on the 16th hole against birdies on the 14th and 17th holes.
Second-placed Bhuvan also carded three under 31 on the front nine and played one under 33 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the front nine’s second, fourth and fifth holes. After taking the turn, Bhuvan carded a birdie on the 15th hole and saved pars on eight other holes.
Ramesh carded one-under 33 on the front nine and played an even-par 34 on the back nine. He carded four birdies on the first, third, fourth, and ninth holes but he faced a double bogey on the fifth and dropped a shot on the seventh hole. On the back nine, he carded birdies on the 11th and 13th holes before dropping shots on 15th and 17th holes.
The cut was applied at 151 with 21 pros making it to the final two rounds. Dinesh Prajapati, Rame Magar, Dhana Bahadur Thapa, Dal Bahadur Lama, Sanjay Lama, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka, Kamal Tamang, Ram Krishna Shrestha, Deepak Magar, Bhu Bahadur Gurung, and Prabhat Kumar Rajbahak survived the cut.
In the amateur section, Ajit BK maintained his lead. Ajit played four-over 72 for a 36-hole total of six-over 142. Suresh Tamang and Prajwal Thapa have tied at 159 with Suresh ahead on countback. Shrestha played 73 in the second round, while Prajwal faltered to 81. Khop Jung Gurung (86) also made it to the final two games.
A total of 31 pros and five amateurs are taking part in the first event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23 organized by the Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Private Limited. The event carries a cash purse of Rs 670,000. The top three pros after 72 holes will earn Rs 116,000, Rs 74,000, and Rs 63,000 respectively, while others in the top 21 will earn their share of cash prizes.
