Thapa and Khadka both played one-under 72 here at the Himalayan Golf Course of par 73 on Wednesday to take one stroke lead over Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha, who shot even par 73 at one of the most difficult course in the country. [break]
Thapa completed front nine with one-over 38 as he shot birdies on Hole No 4 and 6 but suffered bogeys on Hole No 2, 5 and 9. Thapa, then, took a turn to complete back nine with two-under 34 with the birdies on Hole No 13 and 14.
"My driving shots were straight today and I played equally good on green also," said Thapa. "The layout of the course is very tough but good putting shots saved me today," he added.
Meanwhile, Khadka took a turn with two-over 39 but completed back nine with three-under 33. Khadka shot seven birdies on Hole No 1, 4, 6, 11, 12, 13 and 15. He played bogeys on 3, 7 and 14 but Hole No 9 remained disastrous for Khadka as he shot triple bogey on it.
"I played a good round of golf today (Wednesday) except on the Hole No 9," said Khadka. "I shot OB (out of boundary) on the hole and suffered the triple bogey," he added.
Shrestha, another RNGC pro, completed front nine with even-par 37 and back nine with even-par 36. Shrestha shot birdies on Hole No 4, 6 and 9 and eagle on Hole No 13. He dropped a shot each on the second, fifth, seventh, fourteenth and eighteenth holes.
Deepak Neupane (one-over 74), Puskar Rajbahak (three-over 76), Sabin Sapkota (three-over 76) Yalamber Adhikari (four-over 77), Jaya Ram Thapa (four-over 77), Dhana Thapa (five-over 78) and Pashupati Sharma (six-over 79) secured fourth to tenth positions respectively.
In the amateur section, Rajbahak is on the top while Tashi Tsering with eight-over 81 secured second position. Dinesh Prajapati, who was selected for Surya Nepal NGA Youth Golf Program recently, completed Wednesday´s round with nine-over 82 and remained at the third position among the amateur.
Altogether 48 golfers, including 20 amateurs, are participating in the championship. The cut will be applied after the completion of 36-holes. Top 20 pros and tie as well as top six amateurs will play the final 18-holes in the tournament.
The winner of the championship will receive Rs 90,000 while runner-up will get 57,000.
Related story
President Thapa meets Khadka as NC pushes for broader party uni...
