By a Staff Reporter
Kathmandu – Defending champion Dinesh Prajapati and Jayram Shrestha advanced to the final of the Surya Nepal NPGA Match Play, the second event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2023-24, at the Royal Nepal Golf Club on Thursday.
Third-seeded Dinesh defeated Rame Magar 3&2, while fourth-seeded Jayram beat ninth-seeded Bhuwan Kumar Rokka (1-up) on the final hole in the semi-final matches.
Dinesh was 2-up after the first nine holes against Rame and completed an easy victory with two holes remaining. Jayaram was 1-up after nine holes but Bhuwan hit back to take a one-hole lead after 15 holes. Jayram bounced back to win the 16th and 17th holes to regain the lead and emerged victorious after the players halved the final hole.
Dinesh and Jayram will contest in the 36-hole final on Friday, while Rame will take on Bhuwan in the 18-hole match to decide third place.
Earlier, defending champion Dinesh Prajapati, Rame Magar, Bhuwan Kumar Rokka, and Jayaram Shrestha advanced to the semi-finals.
Third-seeded Dinesh Prajapati defeated sixth-seeded Rabi Khadka 1-up on the final hole in the second event under the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2023-24, while seventh-seeded Rame beat No 15 Pradip Kumar Lama 2&1. No 9 Bhuwan Kumar Rokka upset top-seeded Bhuvan Nagarkoti 4&3, and fourth-seeded Jayram Shrestha beat fifth-seeded Sanjay Lama 2&1.
The top 16 professional golfers in the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2022-23 Order of Merit are eligible to participate in the tournament. As four pros in the top 16 have opted out of the tournament, players up to ranking 20 have been included for the first round. Nepal No. 1 Sukra Bahadur Rai, 14th ranked Tanka Bahadur Karki, 15th ranked Bal Bhadra Rai and 16th ranked Kamal Tamang have pulled out citing personal reasons.
No 17 Deepak Magar, No 18 Toran Bikram Shahi, No 19 Pradeep Kumar Lama, and No 20 Ram Krishna Shrestha made it to the draw.
The tournament carries a cash purse of Rs 250,000. Eight pros who faced defeats in the first round will get Rs 6,000 each, while four losing quarter-finalists will earn Rs 11,000 each. The winner of the tournament will receive Rs 60,000, while the runner-up will earn Rs 42,000. Third and fourth-placed pros will get Rs 32,000 and Rs 24,000 respectively.
