Sukra defends Surya Nepal Eastern Open crown
DHARAN, January 24: Nepal No 1 pro Sukra Bahadur Rai carded 3-under 67 in the first round of the Surya Nepal Eastern Open, the third event under Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2023-24, at the par-70 Dharan Golf Club on Wednesday.
Local pro Sukra is one stroke ahead of Niraj Tamang, who carded 2-under 68. Amateur golfers Yubraj Bhujel and Padam Hang are joint third at 1-under 69. Former top pro Bhuvan Nagarkoti is fifth at even-par 70. Rame Magar is sixth at 71, while local pros Sabin Sapkota and Deo Raj Pakhrin share seventh position at 2-over 72.
Veteran pro Deepak Magar is ninth at 73, whereas Dhana Bahadur Thapa and amateur Gajendra Gurung are tied for 10th place at 4-over 74.
Leader Sukra took the turn at 4-under 32 and played 1-over 35 on the back nine. Sukra, who came to Dharan after retaining the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) card, carded five birdies and sank an eagle on the first day. But he suffered two double bogeys and a bogey.
Sukra began the day with an eagle on the par-5 third hole bue he faced a double bogey on the next. He then carded three consecutive birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh before adding another on the ninth. On the back nine, Sukra carded birdies on the 12th and 16th holes but he suffered a double bogey on the 13th hole and dropped a shot on the 17th hole.
Niraj carded birdies on the third, fifth and ninth holes to take the turn at bogey-free 3-under 33. He played 1-over 35 on the back nine. Niraj dropped shots on the 14th and 15th holes before carding a birdie on the 16th hole.
Amateur Yubraj carded 2-under 34 before the turn and played 1-over 35 on the back nine. He carded birdies on the third and fifth holes on the bogey-free front nine. He added another birdie on the 12th hole but dropped shots on the 14th and 16th holes.
Another amateur Padam carded a total of six birdies but he faced three bogeys and a double bogey. He carded 1-under 35 on the front nine and played even-par 34 on the back nine.
He began the day with a birdie but faced a double bogey on the fourth and dropped a shot on the fifth hole. He bounced back with birdies on the sixth, eighth and ninth holes. On the back nine, Padam dropped shots on the 14th and 15th holes against birdies on the 10th and 18th holes.
Former Nepal No 1 pro Bhuvan carded even-par 36 on the front nine and played even-par 34 on the back nine. He faced bogeys on the first and fifth holes against birdies on the second and ninth holes before taking the turn. Bhuvan then┬а dropped a shot on the 10th and carded a birdie on the 11th before saving pars on the remaining seven holes.
A total of 47 golfers — 30 pros and 17 amateurs — are taking part in the 54-hole tournament organized by PGA Nepal under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. The event carries a cash purse of Rs 840,000 and top three pros will receive Rs 140,000, Rs 96,000 and Rs 72,000 respectively. Other pros in top 21 will earn their share of cash prizes. The tournament will conclude with Pro-Am event on Saturday.
