Royal Nepal Golf Club (RNGC) pro Shrestha left overnight leader and club-mate Rabi Khadka six strokes behind at the par-73 Himalayan Golf Course in Pokhara.[break]
Shrestha carded one-under 72 on Friday to finish the 54-hole tournament at a total score of one-under 218. With the one-under score, Shrestha became the first golfer to win the Western Open with the score of under-par at Himalayan Golf Course, the most difficult course of the country because of its layout.
This is the second Western Open title for Shrestha but first in his professional career. Shrestha had won the Western Open in 2006, when he was an amateur golfer.
Khadka, who led the first two days scoring one-under 72 on both occasions, played a disastrous round of golf on the final day. He submitted a card of 7-over 80 on Friday and completed the tournament with the total score of 224.
Another RNGC pro Rajan Thapa finished third with the total score of 226 after the final round score of five-over 78.
Shrestha received Rs 90,000 while Khadka bagged Rs 57,000. Thapa had to satisfy with Rs 45,000.
“I attacked from the very beginning. I took the lead from the sixth hole,” said Shrestha. “As soon as I took the lead, I was confident enough to win the title. On the other hand, Rabi (Khadka) could not put pressure on me,” he added.
Meanwhile, Khadka lamented over his poor chip-put. “Overall, I played a good round but was unlucky every time because of the poor chip-put,” said Khadka.
Shrestha carded two-under 35 on the front nine and one-over 37 as Khadka shot 3-over 40 on the front nine and four-over 40 on the back nine.
Shrestha, who was two strokes behind Khadka, saved par on the first three holes while Khadka suffered a bogey on the second and shot a birdie on the third hole to maintain 2 stroke lead. Shrestha cut the lead on the fourth holes with a birdie on it, where Khadka saved a par.
Shrestha and Khadka both hit bogeys on the fifth hole. The performances on the sixth hole changed the course of the match as Shrestha shot a birdie and Khadka suffered a bogey.
Shrestha, then, shot birdies on the seventh, 12th and 17th holes against bogeys on the 10th, 14th and 18th holes while Khadka shot bogeys on the ninth, 10th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
Rajan Thapa carded two-over 39 on the front nine.
He shot birdie on the first hole and an eagle on the sixth against bogey on the ninth as well as double bogeys on the fifth and seventh holes. He completed back nine with three-over 39. He suffered bogeys on the10th and 13th holes as well as hit a double bogey on the 18th hole. He shot a lone birdie on the back nine on the 12th hole.
Tribhuvan Army Officers´ Club pro Dhana Thapa, who won the Surya Nepal Challenge last month, finished on the fourth position with a total score of 11-over 230 after the final round of two-over 75. He pocketed Rs 36,000.
Yelamber Singh Adhikari (79), Surya Prasad Sharma (78) and Ramesh Adhikari (80) shared the fifth position at 17-over 236.
Dinesh Prajapati, one of the seven players selected from the Surya Nepal NGA Youth Golf Program, claimed the maiden title with the total score of 28-over 247 in the amateur section. Prajapati played a round of 85 on Friday. Prajapati had claimed runner-up trophies in the Swarnima Cup and Surya Nepal Challenge earlier this year.
“I´m happy to win the maiden trophy after finishing consecutive tournaments as a runner-up,” said Prajapati.
Gorkha Lama claimed the runner-up trophy in Pokhara on Friday with a total score of 249, while Sanjeev CK finished third with the total score of 255.
Nepal Professional Golfers Association President Rabindra Man Shrestha, President of Kaski District Golf Association Lachhim Prasad Gurung and Brand Officer of Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd Rajat Thapa handed over prizes to the winners of the tournament.
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