31st March 2007 to 01st April 2007

SURYA NEPAL MASTERS 2007 – Day Four Report

Magar creates history with Surya Nepal Masters win

KATHMANDU , March 31: It was a memorable day for Nepalese golf as local star Deepak Thapa Magar created history with a fantastic win at the Surya Nepal Masters 2007 at the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa here today. The 39 year old who shot a one-over 73, finished with a tournament tally of eight-under 280 to bag the winner's cheque of Rs 2,43,000 (NC). Magar's win was incidentally the first ever by a Nepalese in the 13 year history of the biggest professional golf tournament in the Himalayan Kingdom.
The star of the day was however another Nepalese pro Sabin Sapkota, who brought in the best card of the week, a flawless six-under 66, to leapfrog to a second place finish at five-under 283. Sapkota earned Rs 1,68,000 (NC) for his fantastic fight-back. It was a great day for Malaysian golf with Sasidaran one of the three Malays participating in the event finishing tied-third with Gokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa - Head Pro, Deeepak Acharya, at one-under 287. The duo got to take home Rs 85,500 (NC) each.
Feroz Ali of India occupied the sole fifth position at one-over 289 while opening round leader Suleiman Ali finished 11 th at 295. Feroz bagged Rs 61,500 (NC) while Suleiman benefited to the tune of Rs 31,500 (NC). The remaining two Malays, finished in the top 15 with Faridil Atras finishing eighth at 293 and Lam Kong Loom returning a 12 th place finish at 297. Parnita Garewal, the first and only woman participant in the field finished at 55th place. Youngster Suman Sabkota was nominated the 'Most Promising Nepalese Golfer' award for which he earned Rs 6,900 (NC).
The prizes were given away jointly by Mr. PK Shrestha – President, Nepal Golf Association; Mr. Harsh Dar – MD, Surya Nepal Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. Prem Sachdev - Chairman, Le Meridien, Kathmandu (GFGRS) soon after the event. The tournament is being supported by Surya Nepal's brand John Player, the leading apparel brand in Nepal.
Deepak Thapa Magar was always confident of winning today as anybody with a nine-stroke lead would be. However, he did begin to worry a bit when he got wind of Sabin Sapkota's relentless assault. Magar started the day in not too auspicious a manner with a bogey caused by a missed four feet putt. He however birdied the very next hole to draw level. A birdie on the sixth was negated by a back to back bogeys on the next two holes. At the lemon-break Magar had Deepak Acharya breathing down his neck only five strokes away. The RNGC pro went on to drop two more shots on the 12th and 16th but just when the spectators were anticipating a possible play-off with Sapkota who was five-under for the day at that stage, the eventual winner went to birdie the final two holes. "It feels great to be the first Nepalese pro to win the Surya Nepal Masters. I will never forget this day," said Magar.
Sapkota's round was a revelation. The 28 year old Dharan Golf Club pro came with a set goal to chase the leader, catch up and overtake him. That he was over ten strokes behind and in fourth position overnight did not bother him one bit. Sabkota began his campaign with a par but struck soon after with a birdie on the second courtesy a driver, pitching wedge combo. Three more birdies followed on the third, sixth and ninth and the long haired golfer made the turn at four-under. On his back nine Sapkota used a driver, seven-iron combo to subsequently sink a 20 feet putt for birdie on the 12th and followed it up by sinking another spectacular 12 feet curling birdie putt on the 18 th in full view of a gallery of supporters. "It was a fantastic day," said Sapkota. "A win would have been better but I'm happy," he added.
Deepak Acharya began his round in aggressive fashion with a birdie and went on to register two more on the third and sixth. A bogey on the seventh where he missed a ten feet par putt set him back a bit but by the time he finished nine, he was just five strokes shy of the leader. However, post the lemon-break all Acharya could manage was a bogey on the 13th for a card of one-under 71. "I have been out of form this week. It is just one of those things," said Acharya.
Malaysia's Sasidaran's performance was very creditable considering the fact that out of all those in the top five, he was the only one who had never played the Gokarna Forest Golf Resort course ever before. This played a major role in his not being able to return better scores in the first two days when he shot 75 and 74 respectively. The talented golfer came into his own in the third round with a card of 69. Today he duplicated that effort. Sasidaran had a very eventful front-nine, staring as he did with a hat-trick of birdies. The birdies on the first and second holes were each the result of monster 25 feet putts. Bogeys on the fourth, seventh and eighth however undid all the good work with the water hazard on the seventh and eighth contributing to the golfers' dropping shots on those holes. A birdie on the ninth was followed by a birdie start to Sasidaran's back-nine as well. Post a bogey on the 11th, he sank birdie putts on the 15th and 16th to finish with a card of three-under 69. "It was a great experience playing the Surya Nepal Masters," said Sasidaran. "Now that I know this course, I am looking forward to coming back next year and winning," he added.
Khadka wins amateur title: Rabi Khadka shot a final round 75 to win the amateur title at a tournament tally of six over 294. Surya Prasad Sharma finished second at 303 while Tashi Ghale finished third at 305.
SCORES (after 72 holes): 280 Deepak Thapa Magar(70,69,68,73); 283 Sabin Sapkota(71,72,74,66); 287 Deepak Acharya(72,72,72,71), Sasidaran(75,74,69,69); 289 Feroz Ali(73,73,70,73); 291 Ramesh Kumar(72,76,70,73); 292 Deepak Neupane(73,72,74,73); 293 Faridil Atras(74,71,74,74); 294 Ramesh Nagarkoti(76,70,77,71); 295 Suleiman Ali(68,78,73,76); 297 Lam Kong Loom(75,77,72,73); 299 Mani Rai(75,77,67,80) AMATEURS: 294 Rabi Khadka(74,75,70,75); 303 Surya Prasad Sharma(79,74,75,75); 305 Tashi Ghale(73,76,78,78)