Bhuwan Nagarkoti Clinches 26th Surya Nepal Western Open Title, Securing Hat-Trick Victory

Pokhara. Bhuwan Nagarkoti has won the title of the 26th edition of the Surya Nepal Western Open. Playing an even-par 69 today, he managed to secure a hat-trick of titles by defeating Sanjay Lama by one stroke with a total score of 3-under 204.

This is the 14th title of his career. Along with the title, he received a cash prize of NPR 170,000. Earlier this season, he had won the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship and the Surya Nepal Kathmandu Open titles.

Sanjay finished second with a total score of 2-under 205 after playing a 4-under 65 today. He took home NPR 125,000 in cash. Amateur Rahul Bishwakarma carded a score of 4-under 65. He finished third overall with a score of 1-under 206.

Dharan's golfer, Shukra Bahadur Rai, finished his final day's play at 4-over 73, ending fourth overall at 2-over 209. Finishing third among the professionals, he secured NPR 100,000 in cash. Jayaram Shrestha finished his final day at 6-over 75, settling for fifth place overall with a total score of 7-over 214. He received NPR 82,000.

Pokhara's local golfer, Bhubahadur Gurung, finished sixth. He scored 8-over 215 overall. He completed today's round at 3-over 72. He received NPR 72,000. Bhuwan Kumar Rokaya and Dinesh Prajapati jointly shared seventh place with a total score of 10-over 217. Bhuwan scored 3-over 72 and Dinesh shot 2-under 67. They received an equal cash prize of NPR 65,000 each.

Taran Bikram Shahi, who scored 12-over 219 overall, finished ninth and was entitled to NPR 51,000. He finished today's play at 2-over 71. Ramesh Adhikari and Suresh Tamang, who scored 13-over 220, finished jointly in tenth place. Ramesh played 7-over 76 today and Suresh played 6-over 75. They won a cash prize of NPR 44,000 each.

Nagarkoti held only a one-stroke lead after the final 18 holes against Bhuwan. However, it became easier for Nagarkoti as Shukra and Jayaram struggled from the start. After bogeying the sixth hole, he birdied the eighth hole to finish the front nine at even-par 34. After this, although Shukra and Jayaram could not challenge on the remaining nine holes, Sanjay Lama provided competition. But Nagarkoti managed to secure a one-stroke victory by finishing the back nine at even-par 35 as well. Nagarkoti birdied the 10th and 13th holes, while bogeying the 12th and 17th holes once each.

Sanjay finished the front nine at 1-under 33, hitting birdies on the first, seventh, and eighth holes. He bogeyed the second and sixth holes once each. On the back nine, he birdied five holes. He birdied the 10th hole and then four consecutive birdies from the 14th to the 17th holes. However, bogeys on the 12th and 18th holes completed the back nine at 3-under 32.

Amateur Rahul saved one stroke each on the first and fifth holes against a bogey on the seventh hole. He played the front nine at 1-under 33. After that, he achieved an eagle on the 13th hole, a par-4, and birdied the 16th and 17th holes, while bogeying the 18th hole. He won the amateur title, defeating Kishan Pariyar by 22 strokes. Kishan finished second, completing the tournament with a result of 21-over 228.

The prizes were distributed to the winning players by Keshav Pradhan, Deputy General Manager of Surya Nepal Pvt. Ltd., and Tashi Ghale, President of the Nepal Golf Association. The tournament, organized by the Nepal Professional Golfers Association (NPGA), saw the participation of 26 professionals and 16 amateur players. The total prize money was increased this time in the tournament sponsored by Surya Nepal Pvt. Ltd. In this tournament with a total cash prize of NPR 1,050,000, professional players finishing in the top 18 positions received cash prizes.