Date:07/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/07/stories/2008120760631700.htm

Sport - Golf

Arjun Atwal looks to win early

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Arjun Atwal.

NEW DELHI: Arjun Atwal’s career is on the upswing. The year has seen him play pretty consistently on the Nationwide Tour in the company of some equally desperate aspirants looking to get back to the premier PGA Tour. Having won back the ‘card’ that ensures him a minimum of 25 events on the PGA Tour next season, Atwal is eager to continue with the same zeal when he tees off with those in the big league.

“I will be doing pretty much the same on the PGA Tour what I did all season on the Nationwide. That is, try to win. I have a plan that I am not going to talk about,” said Atwal during the launch of the NCR Cup golf tournament here on Saturday.

Atwal, who gets to practice with Tiger Woods at the Isleworth course in Orlando since 2003, is without a regular coach on the Tour.

“The kind of things Tiger does during practice, especially his short game, is incredible. We all help each other out, this is not to suggest that we help Tiger,” he said with a smile.

Atwal became the first Indian golfer to win a title in the U.S. in October this year when he claimed the Chattanooga Classic on the Nationwide Tour. He stands 17th on the money-list on the Tour that has 25 berths for the PGA Tour next year.

On his rather inconsistent showings in the U.S. where he qualified for the 2004 season of the PGA Tour, got a conditional card for 2005 and a full card in 2006 before dropping out, Atwal said, “the missed birdie on the final hole at Torrey Pines (in Buick Invitational, 2006) took a lot of out me. (A birdie would have seen Atwal in a play-off with eventual champion Tiger Woods, Jose Maria Olazabal and Nathan Green and also help him keep the card).

Son brings change

“To make matters worse, I had a bad back. Last year, after the car crash (in March), golf was not my priority. Things were not going my way. It was only after my son was born (in December), that life changed.”

This year, Atwal has five top-10 finishes, including a title and a shared second spot, on the Nationwide Tour. His earnings of $259,186 for the season is indeed meagre considering that he was the first golfer to breach the one million-dollar mark by topping the 2003 Order of Merit.

Atwal also said that in the U.S., the sponsors and viewership for golf would return once Tiger Woods decides to come back after recovering from his knee-surgery.