The 13th South Asian Games group event gold medal winner, Tamang took one-stroke lead over fellow Dharan pro and Nepal No 1 Sukra Bahadur Rai and Sanjay Lama, who carded four-under 66 in the opening round of the 2nd occasion under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23. Surya Nepal Eastern Open from Tuesday Khadka opens with 62, takes one-shot lead The 13th South Asian Games group occasion gold medal winner, Tamang took one-stroke lead over fellow Dharan pro and Nepal No 1 Sukra Bahadur Rai and Sanjay Lama, who carded four-under 66 in the opening round of the 2nd occasion under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23. Tamang made a flying start with 5 birdies on the first 7 holes before dropping a shot on the eighth.

He then finished the front 9 with an eagle on the par-4 ninth hole as he took the turn at six-under 30.

He headed towards a really low round after he carded three straight birdies from the 10th hole.

But he collapsed and dropped shots on 4 holes - 13th, 14th, 17th and 18th - to complete the back nine at one-over 35.

Top professional Rai carded one-under 35 prior to taking the turn and played three-under 31 on the back 9.

He had a bad start with two straight bogeys however Rai bounced back with birdies on the 5th, 6th and ninth holes.

He then carded four birdies on the 10th, 13th, 15th and 18th and drooped a shot on the 14th hole.Lama carded birdies on the 2nd, fifth and 6th holes to take the turn at three-under 33.

He then dealt with back-to-back bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes against three birdies on the 10th, 16th and 18th holes in his one-under 33.

Winner of the season-opening Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open, Bhuvan Nagarkoti was even more one shot behind at 67.

On a day when just 4 golf enthusiasts broke the par, Jayaram Shrestha was fifth at 70.

Amateur golf enthusiast Raj Kumar Rai was sixth at 71, whereas 7 pros - Rabi Khadka, Ramesh Adhikari, Rame Magar, Surya Prasad Sharma, Tanka Bahadur Karki, Bal Bhadra Rai and Dinesh Prajapati - shared the seventh position at two-over 72.

Amateurs Rupendra Gurung and Yubraj Bhujel were connected for 14th with professional Dhana Bahadur Thapa and they were 2 strokes behind leader Raj Kumar Rai.

4 pros - Dal Bahadur Rai, Tham Bahadur Rai, Deepak Acharya and Bhuwan Kumar Rokka - and beginners Sukra Raj Rai and Suresh Tamang were connected for 17th position at four-over 74.

In all, 40 golf enthusiasts - 29 pros and 11 novices - are taking part in the 54-hole competitors arranged by the Nepal PGA under the sponsorship of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd.Cut will be applied after the second round with top 21 pros and at least six amateurs making it to the final round.

The occasion carries a cash bag of Rs 800,000 and leading three pros will get Rs 140,000, Rs 90,000 and Rs 67,000 respectively.

Others in the leading 21 will also get their share of money prizes.The competition will conclude with the Pro-Am occasion on Friday.A version of this short article appears in the print on December 28, 2022, of The Himalayan Times .

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