The RNGC pro Khadka carded even-par 36 on the front nine and added three-under 33 on the back nine at par-72 Tribhuvan Army Officers Golf Club. Sharma and Shrestha are tied for second at two-under 70.[break]
Khadka began the day with a birdie and added another in the seventh hole against bogeys on the fourth and sixth holes in his even-par 36 on the front nine holes. After taking the turn, he hit birdies on the 11th, 12th and 16th holes in the bogey-free back nine.
Sharma played two-under 34 on the front nine and even-par 36 on the back nine while Shrestha took a turn with even-par 36 and completed the back nine with two-under 34.
Deepak Thapa Magar shot one-under 71 to stay at fourth while Jaya Ram Shrestha and Umesh Nagarkoti shared the fifth position at even-par 72. Likewise, Ram Thapa is seventh with the score of two-over 74 while Sanjay Lama, Toran Bikram Shahi and Deepak Acharya are tied for eighth at three-over 75.
Dharan pro Mani Rai is 11th at 76 while defending champion Ramesh Adhikari shared the 12th position with Deepak Neupane at five-over 77.
In Amateur section, Tashi Tsering is on the top with two-over 74 while Tashi Ghale and Tirtha Paudel are tied second at 76.
The tournament is sponsored by country´s first professional golfer and Nepal PGA Advisor Ghana Shyam Thapa, who started the tournament to mark his 50th year of professional golf three years ago. Altogether 47 golfers, including 25 pros and 22 amateurs, teed off in the third edition of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2012-13.
Out of the total cash purse of Rs 300,000, the top three pros will receive Rs 55,000, Rs 37,000 and Rs 27,000 respectively.
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