Kathmandu – Pro Rabi Khadka took a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open at the par-68 Royal Nepal Golf Club on Tuesday.
Rabi carded six-under 62 and is one shot ahead of Bhuwan Nagarkoti on the opening day of the first tournament of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour season 2022-23. Bhuwan carded five-under 63. Moreover, Nepal No 1 Professional Sukra Bahadur Rai carded three-under 65 and remains three strokes behind the scorecard topper. Furthermore, Niraj Tamang concluded the inaugural day remaining fourth carding two-over 66.
Ramesh Adhikari with one-under 67 finished fourth whereas Dhana Bahadur Thapa and Jayaram Shrestha carded even-par 68 to share the sixth position. Three pros, Surya Prasad Sharma, Dal Bahadur Lama, and Krishna Man Rajbahak jointly remained at eighth scoring one-over 69.
Former No 1 pro-Rabi carded four-under 30 on the front nine and played two-under 32 on the back nine. He began the day with an eagle on the first hole and carded birdies on the fourth, fifth and eighth holes. Rabi faced a bogey on the sixth hole. After taking the turn, Rabi dropped a shot on the 15th hole against three birdies on the 10th, 12th, and 13th holes.
Similarly, Bhuvan took the turn at two-under 32 and carded three-under 31 on the back nine. Bhuwan, who carded two consecutive birdies on the first and second holes, added another on the fourth hole before facing a bogey on the ninth hole. He carded birdies on the 10th, 13th, and 14th holes.
In the amateur section, Ajit BK carded two-over 70 to take the eight-stroke lead over Prajwal Gurung, who played 10-over 78. Ajit — who is tied for 11th place with pros Rajendra Shrestha Pradhan and Pradeep Kumar Lama — played one over 35 on both halves, while Prajwal took the turn at three-over 37 and played seven-over 41 on the back nine.
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. A cut will be applied after 36 holes with the top 21 pros and five amateurs making it to the final two rounds. 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.
