Kathmandu: Sadbhav Acharya set a new course record at Gokarna Golf Club leading Nepal ‘A’ to team event gold medal in the 11th Nepal Amateur Open Golf Championship at the par-72 Gokarna Golf Club on Wednesday.

Nepal No 1 amateur Sadbhav carded 12-under 60 to set a new course record, eclipsing Sukra Bahadur Rai’s previous record of 11-under 61 set in the Surya Nepal Central Open in March 2023.

Sadbhav’s previous best at Gokarna was 8-under 64 he played in the Surya Nepal NPGA Tour Championship in March last year.

Sadbhav combined with fellow national team golfer Rahul Biswakarma to win the team event gold medal with 36-hole total score of 24-under 264. Sadbhav carded a bogey-free 60 and Rahul carded 4-under 68 for second-round total of 16-under 128. Nepal ‘A’ was at the top after Sadbhav and Rahul carded 8-under 136.

Nepal ‘A’ recorded 24-stroke victory over Bhutan’s Nim Dorji Tamang and Dechen Lhendup. Bhutan finished second on count back after being tied on even-par 288 with Bangladesh’s Shofiqul Islam and Md Shahab Uddin. Bangladesh came third, while Nepal ‘B’ of Tashi Tsering and Wangchen Dhondup finished fourth.

In the men’s individual section, Sadbhav posted 36-hole total score of 18-under 126 to extend the lead going into the third and final round. He is eight strokes ahead of India’s Sumit Kotwal. Sumit carded 8-under 64 in the second round for 10-under 134. Nepal’s Rahul is third at 6-under 138 after he carded 4-under 68 on the second day.

Sri Lanka’s Reshan Algama and Bangladesh’s Md Shahab Uddin are tied for fourth at 4-under 140. Reshan carded 4-under 68 and Shahab carded 2-under 70 in the second round. Bhutan’s Dechen Lhendup is sixth at 2-under 142 after he carded 4-under 68.

Nim Dorji Tamang of Bhutan and Tashi Tsering of Nepal are tied for seventh at 2-over 146. Both golfers carded even-par 72 in second round. Shafiqul Islam of Bangladesh and Wangchen Dhondup of Nepal are tied for ninth at 4-over 148. Shafiqul played 1-over 73 and Wangchen shot 8-over 80. Cut was applied at 16-over 160.

Leader Sadbhav carded 6-under 30 each on both halves. He did not drop a shot in the second round and carded birdies on the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth holes on the front nine. After taking the turn, Sadbhav carded five straight birdies from the 11th hole and added one more on the final hole to set the new record.

In women’s section, India’s Ananthi Vivek extended her lead to 14 strokes over her compatriot Dia Cris Kumar. Ananthi carded 2-under 70 for 36-hole total score of 3-under 141. Dia carded 1-under 71 for 11-over 155. Nepal’s Tara Karki played 11-over 83 and slipped to third at 19-over 163.

In U-16 category, India’s Vivaan Ubhayakar moved to the top with total score of 1-over 145. He carded 1-under 71 in the second round. Prince Bainsla of India is second at 5-over 149 after he played 2-over 74. Another Indian player Advay Bagla (76) is third at 152. Nepal’s Reuben Thapa, Daniel Baniya, Soham Agrawal and Dipson Lama, and Avane Rai along with India’s PS Nilofer survived the cut.

A total of 57 players from five nations are taking part in the three-day tournament organised by Nepal Golf Association.