Thapa carded nine-over 100 on his home course to win the tournament played on 27 holes in strokeplay scratch handicap format. Thapa bagged a purse of Rs 18,000 along with the winner´s trophy.[break]
Two other RNGC caddies -- Bikash Adhikari and Gyanendra Bahadur Raut -- finished joint second with scores of 11-over 102. They received Rs 10,500 each.
Kishan Kaliraj, also of RNGC, received Rs 1,000 for the most birdies while Sanjeev CK of Himalayan Golf Club, Pokhara won the prize for the longest drive. Similarly, Amit Bogati of Gokarna Golf Club bagged Rs 1,000 for closest to the pin.
Cut was applied after 18 holes with the top 20 and ties making to the last nine holes. Altogether 65 caddies from across the country had participated in the annual event sponsored by International Society for Medical Education (ISME) Pvt Ltd. Five caddies each from Himalayan Golf Course of Pokhara, Nirvana Country Club of Dharan and Tribhuvan Army Officers Golf Club of Kathmandu had participated in the tournament. Likewise, 16 caddies from Gokarna Golf Club and 32 from the host club had vied for the title.
ISME Pvt Ltd Chairman and CEO Nagender K Pampati, RNGC Secretary NK Rai, Nepal Golf Association General Secretary Tashi Ghale and Nepal Professional Golfers Association President Rabindra Man Shrestha handed over the prizes to the winners.
Speaking at the prize distribution ceremony, NGA General Secretary Ghale said the caddy tournament is an important tournament for the development of Nepali golf. "Shiva Ram Shrestha recently won the Surya Nepal Masters and to inform you all, he was picked from a similar caddy tournament then," said Ghale. "I can see future heroes here in this tournament also," he added.
Meanwhile, Pampati vowed to make the tournament better every year and also congratulated Nepal No 1 pro Shiva Ram Shrestha for winning the Surya Nepal Masters 2013. "I wish to see him playing golf not only in India and Nepal but beyond that as well," said Pampati, who has been providing all kinds of support to Shrestha to play in the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
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