KATHMANDU, Sept 13: Two Indian golfers and a Nepali player share joint lead after the first round of the Faldo Series Nepal Championship golf tournament at the Gokarna Golf Club in Kathmandu. Aryaan and Tenzing of India, competing in the boys’ 12 to 16 year age category, and Sukra in boys’ 17 to 22 year age category carded identical score of four-over 76 in the par-72 golf course.
All three -- Sukra, Aryaan and Tenzing carded identical one-under 35 on the front nine and played five-over 41 on the back nine.
Sukra is three strokes ahead of Tejendra Thapa Magar and Yubraj Bhujel in the 17 to 21 year age category. Both of the latter players carded seven-over 79. Raju Diwakar posted nine-over 81 in the same age category.
Three share lead on opening day
In the 12 to 16 year age category, Luca Duidi from Italy is three shot behind Aryaan and Tenzing. Luca carded seven-over 79. Subash Ghising finished the day with 13-over 85 and Binod Tamang scored 14-over 86.
In the girls’ open age category of 12 to 21 years, Sifat Kaur Alag from India carded seven-over 79 and Pratima Sherpa turned in a card of 17-over 89. Sukra carded birdie on the third hole and played even pars on the rest of the holes of the front nine. He dropped a shot each on the 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th holes and double boggeyed on the 15th hole against a lone birdie on 17th hole in the back nine.
Tenzing also made single birdie on the seventh hole before taking the turn. On the back nine, he had bogey on the 10th, 11th, 15th and a disastrous triple bogey on par-3 13th hole against birdies on the 12th and 17th for five-over 41.
Aryaan, a Dubai-based Indian golfer, carded birdies on the first and third holes against lone bogey on the sixth. On the back nine, he scored five-over 41 after making bogies on the 11th, 14th, 16th and a double bogey on the 15th hole.
Sifat, the leader in the girls’ category, scored four-over 40 on the front nine with bogies on the second, sixth, seventh and eighth holes. On the back nine, she made a birdie on the 12th hole but made double bogey on the 15thand dropped shots on the last two holes for three-over 39.
The event organized by Nepal Golf Association and Gokarna Forest Resort is 54 holes tournament. Total of 25 junior golfers are taking part in the age-group tournament. The winner of each of category will earn places in the 11th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be hosted by Faldo at Laguna Lng Co in Danang, Vietnam, in 2017 March.
Currently, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in more than 30 countries globally with participation of more than 7,000 golfers.
