COLORADO:
The Himalayan Open Golf Tournament made history on August 8–9, 2026, bringing together more than 110 Nepali diaspora golfers at the beautiful Red Hawk Ridge Golf Course in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Golfers traveled from across the United States, Nepal, and Canada to participate, making the tournament a truly international gathering of the Nepali diaspora and one of the largest Nepali golf events ever organized outside Nepal.
Joining the tournament from Nepal were businessman Nima Nuru Sherpa of Altitude Air Helicopter and retired SSP Rajendra Shrestha. Representing the Nepali community from Canada were Tenzing Sherpa, Netra Rai, and Raju Bhattarai. Their participation added special meaning to an event created to connect Nepali golfers across borders through friendship, sportsmanship, and a shared passion for golf, according to Pemba Tenzing Sherpa, President of the Sherpa Foundation, the organiser of the mega event.
With a slogan, ‘connecting the diaspora through golf,’ the two-day, 36-hole stroke-play tournament featured a shotgun start at 8:00 a.m., bringing the entire field onto the course together and creating a memorable atmosphere from the very beginning. “The Himalayan Open was sponsored by the Danfe Foundation and Dr. Dipen Kadaria as well as Sherpa Foundation,” Sherpa said.
The Himalayan Open celebration began a day before the tournament. On Friday, August 7, the Himalayan Open welcomed Pratima Sherpa, the internationally recognized young Nepali female golfer whose inspiring journey has gained attention around the world. She conducted a special golf clinic for Nepali children under the age of 15 in Colorado, introducing young participants to the game and encouraging them to dream beyond boundaries.
The successful clinic represented an important part of the Himalayan Open’s mission: to inspire the next generation and create opportunities for Nepali youth through golf. “The quality of the tournament field was impressive. Among the more than 110 participants were approximately 20 single-digit handicap golfers, including two scratch players.}
The competition was divided into three flights: Handicap 0–9, Handicap 10–19 and Handicap 20–2. Players competed for both gross and net honors, creating competitive opportunities across different skill levels while maintaining the integrity and sportsmanship of the game.
The Himalayan Open featured a total tournament prize value of more than $42,000, according to Sherpa. “Of that amount, $20,000 was dedicated to four Hole-in-One prizes, with $5,000 available for each designated Hole-in-One opportunity. The Overall Gross Champion and Overall Net Champion each received $3,000. In addition, nearly 25 flight and special-achievement awards were presented, with individual prizes ranging from approximately $300 to $1,000.”
The prize money, however, tells only a small part of the Himalayan Open story. The greater achievement was seeing more than 110 golfers-representing different states, countries, professions, generations, and backgrounds, standing together on the same golf course as one Nepali diaspora community, Sherpa added.
The Himalayan Open was founded with a larger purpose: to connect the Nepali and Himalayan diaspora through golf and create a common ground where friendship, integrity, professionalism, and community can grow. “Golf is a game built upon honesty, discipline, patience, respect, and sportsmanship. These same values can strengthen communities and build lasting relationships while the success of the 2026 Himalayan Open demonstrated what is possible when a community comes together with a common purpose,” Sherpa added.
Following the tremendous response to the inaugural event, organizers are already looking forward to hosting an even grander Himalayan Open Golf Tournament in August 2027. And an even more exciting vision lies ahead.
The Himalayan Open is proposing an American-Nepali Diaspora Golf Journey to Nepal in 2028, bringing golfers from the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world back to the Himalayan homeland for an extraordinary golf experience. “The proposed journey would include golf in Mustang, home to one of the world’s highest-altitude golf courses; Pokhara, surrounded by spectacular Himalayan scenery; and a grand finale at the historic Gokarna Forest Golf Resort in Kathmandu.”
The vision is bigger than simply playing golf. “It is about bringing the diaspora home, reconnecting with Nepal, creating friendships across generations and countries, and showing how sport can become a bridge between our homeland and the Nepali communities that have grown around the world,” Sherpa shared.