POKHARA, DEC 27 - Bhuwan Nagarkoti clinched his maiden tour title with two-stroke victory over Surya Prasad Sharma in the final round of the Surya Nepal Western Open here at the par-70 Himalayan Golf Course in Pokhara on Friday.
The Gokarna Golf Club pro Nagarkoti, who never relinquished the lead from the opening round,shot two-under 68 for a three -day total of four-under 206 to win the fourth event held under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2014-15. With the maiden trophy, Bhuwan, previously known to the local golf ing circuit as Umesh, received a top prize of Rs 95,000.
The Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC) pro Sharma also carded a 68 but finished second at two-under 208. Tribhuvan Army Officers Golf Club pro Dhana Thapa also carded 68 to finish third at two-over 212. Surya received Rs 60,000 and Dhana got Rs 44,000.
For the first time in three rounds, four golf ers were able to produce under-par card in the treacherous and demanding course with Nepal No 1 and the defending champion Shivaram Shrestha the best of the lot scoring four-under 66. Despite the excellent card, it was only enough for the top Nepali golf er to finish fourth at three-over 213.
Sanjay Lama of the Army Club ended up in fifth place at 219, while Jayaram Shrestha finished sixth at 220. Sanjeev Bahadur Nepali was seventh at 224, while Bhu Bahadur Gurung (225) and Rame Magar (227) claimed the eighth and ninth places respectively. Ramesh Nagarkoti and Dinesh Prajapati finished tied for 10th at 228.
Nagarkoti opened the final round two strokes ahead of Sharma but that lead was gone by the first nine holes. Nagarkoti shot even-par 35 on the front nine while Sharma caught up with the leader carding two-under 33. But in a reversal of fortunes, Nagarkoti shot two-under 33 and Sharma even-par 35. Nagarkoti parred all the first nine holes before playing two under in the back nine that included four birdies and two bogeys. Sharma, in the meantime, sank two birdies on the front nine before earning yet another shot at No 10. But his chances were reduced when he double bogeyed on the 11th and 13th. By the time he sank two more birdies on the 15th and 16th, Nagarkoti had the title within his grasp.
Arun Tamang shot seven-over 77 to win the Amateur title with a total score of 231. Kamal Thapa (79) was a distant second at 238. Dal Lama was third at 242. In all, 29 pros took part in the tournament organised by Nepal Professional Golfers Association. The tournament will conclude on Saturday with a Pro-Am tournament.
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