Thapa is the only Nepali golfer in the history of Surya Nepal Masters -- the biggest and the only international golfing event of the country -- to win the title.[break]
"I had practiced a lot. Practice is a must if one wants to win the trophy," recalled Thapa, who had won the Surya Nepal Masters tee off championship in 2007. "I had set a target of completing each day with scores of two or three under par and I succeeded," he added.
Thapa had claimed the title in 2007 finishing the tournament with a score of eight under, 280. However, none of the Nepali golfers have succeeded in clinching the title after Thapa.
"Shiva Ram Shrestha had a score of 12-under in the last edition but he finished third. After the event was approved by PGTI (Professional Golf Tour of India) and Nepal Professional Golfers Association (NPGA) last year, the competition level is high," said Thapa.
However, Thapa still believes that a score of 3-under everyday could ensure the title. "A golfer would be 90 percent sure if he registers a card of 3-under everyday," said Thapa.
Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha aims to win the trophy this time around. "I have a target of scoring 3-under everyday. If I can improve my putting, I´ll obviously score better," said Shrestha.
However, Shrestha is aware of his opponents. The Indian charge is led by Mukesh Kumar who finished third on the Order of Merit for PGTI 2011. Defending champion Rashid Khan, who finished the last edition with a score of 20-under and the Indian Open winner Vijay Kumar are also in the fray.
Former champion Anura Rohana and last year´s runner-up Mithun Perera, both from Sri Lanka, Mohammed Sayum of Bangladesh and South African Albie Hanekom are some other big names participating in the event.
"There are top players from PGTI and the course at the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort is relatively easy one. There will be tough competition. However, I still hope to better last year´s performance and win the trophy," said Shrestha.
Along with Shrestha, the Nepali charge will be spearheaded by Rabi Khadka, Ramesh Adhikari, Surya Sharma and Ramesh Nagarkoti, who finished on the top spots of NPGA Order of Merit.
"This is the biggest tournament for our golfers. Though we have NPGA-Surya Nepal Golf Tour events round the calendar, they are not this big. And, this fact puts pressure on our golfers," said Thapa Magar.
Deepak Acharya, secretary of NPGA and senior golf director at Gokarna, said that final score of 12 to 15 under could win the tournament.
"Our golfers are also doing well in recent times. They have been finishing the NPGA Tour events with scores of under par even on the most difficult course of the country. We can hope better this time," said Thapa Magar.
Altogether 126 golfers, including 30 local professional golfers and 10 amateurs, are participating in the main event of Surya Nepal Masters 2012, which concludes on Saturday.
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