Thapa and Adhikari have a one-stroke lead over Dhana Thapa, who shot even-par 67 on Monday. Ram Thapa started the tournament with a bogey and suffered another on the third hole. He shot a birdie on the ninth hole to take a turn with one-over 34. On the back nine, he shot four consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th holes but suffered bogeys on the 15th and 16th for two-under 32. [break]
Adhikari took a turn with even-par 33 on the front nine as he suffered a bogey on the third hole but shot a birdie on the next hole. He completed the back nine at one-under 33 as he shot birdies on the 10th, 12th and 13th holes before suffering bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes.
Dhana Thapa carded one-over 34 on the front nine and one-under 33 on the back nine. He started the day with a bogey and suffered two more on the sixth and 15th holes. He shot birdies on the fourth, 12th and 13th holes.
Three amateurs Dinesh Prajapati, Neeraj SJB Rana and Tashi Tsering shared the fourth position after submitting identical cards of one-over 68.
Mani Rai, a pro from Dharan, shared the sixth position with young pro Yelamber Singh Adhikari at two-over 69.
Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha, who recently won the Surya Nepal Masters title, shared the ninth place with four others -- veteran Deepak Thapa Magar, Pradeep K Lama, Umesh Nagarkoti and CB Bhandari -- at three-over 70.
Altogether 44 golfers -- 26 professionals and 18 amateurs -- teed off on Monday. However, pro Ramesh Nagarkoti withdrew from the tournament midway through the first round due to his injured knee. The cut will be applied after 36 holes with the top 20 professionals and amateurs making it to the last 36 holes.
The event carries a total purse of Rs 300,000, of which the winner will get a check of Rs 55,000. Likewise, the runner-up will receive Rs 37,000 and the third-place holder will earn Rs 29,000.
The tournament is the second event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2013-14 and is sponsored by Nepal´s first professional golfer and former president of Nepal Professional Golfers Association (NPGA), Ghana Shyam Thapa.
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