The first ever Qualifying School of the tour will start on Tuesday at the Royal Nepal Golf Club, Kathmandu.[break]
Earlier, NPGA used to allow amateurs to turn pro and participate in the Surya Nepal Golf Tour but from now onwards every aspiring pro golfer must come through the Qualifying School to be a member of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour before they can participate in professional golf tournaments.
The Qualifying School will be played over 54 holes on stroke play format. According to NPGA, 21 aspiring professionals have signed to participate in the tour to earn the pro-card through this tournament.
Players finishing in the top 5 will earn the pro-card, additionally, players who do not make it to the top 5 but have score 18 over par for 54 holes will also earn the pro-card.
Out of 21 participants, there are two players from Himalayan Golf Course, Pokhara, three players from Gokarna Golf Club, Kathmandu, one player from Tribhuwan Army Officers Golf Club, Kathmandu, and 15 players from Royal Nepal Golf Club.
NPGA President Rabindra Man Shrestha said that the association is happy to see so many aspiring professionals taking part in the Qualifying School. "We introduced the Qualifying School just like other golf tours in the world as we want to raise the standard of competition," said Shrestha.
In the current season of Surya Nepal Golf Tour, four events have already been played, while seven more events are to be played by the end of February 2013.
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