Arjun Atwal

Arjun Atwal (born 20 March 1973) is an Indian professional golfer who has played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and was the first Indian to become a member of the U.S. based PGA Tour.

Born in Asansol, West Bengal, India, Atwal took up golf at the age of fourteen, playing at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, (which was founded in 1829 and is one of the oldest golf clubs outside the United Kingdom). He also spent two years at school in the United States, attending W. Tresper Clarke High School, in East Meadow, NY. After turning professional in 1995 he became one of the leading players on the Asian Tour, topping the order of merit in 2003 and becoming the first man to win a million U.S. dollars on the tour by winning the Hero Honda Masters on home soil in the same year.

Atwal was the second Indian golfer to earn membership of the European Tour after Jeev Milkha Singh and the first to win on a European Tour event when he notched up a five stroke victory in the 2002 Caltex Singapore Masters, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European tours. A second European Tour win followed at the Carlsberg Malaysian Open in 2003. Late in the same year Atwal finished seventh at the PGA Tour's qualifying school in the U.S., earning a PGA Tour card for 2004, making him the first native East Indian golfer to do so. In his 2004 rookie season on the PGA tour in America he finished 142nd on the money list.

In 2005, Atwal came close to winning on the PGA Tour numerous times, most notably at the BellSouth Classic in April. After posting a 64 (the low round for any golfer in the tourney) in the final round of the rain-shortened event, he wound up in a five-man sudden death playoff along with Rich Beem, José María Olazábal, Brandt Jobe and Phil Mickelson. On the first hole of the playoff, the par-5 18th, Atwal's second shot went into the water, yet he almost holed his fourth shot. If he had done so, he'd have made birdie and won (Mickelson, Beem and Olazabal made pars, while Jobe bogeyed.) After two-putting the green, Atwal made bogey, and he and Jobe were eliminated. Mickelson went on to win the tournament.

Atwal finished 82nd on the money list in 2005 to secure his spot on Tour for 2006.

Atwal was involved in a fatal crash possibly associated with street racing on SR 535, in Windermere, Florida, on March 10, 2007, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. [ [http://www.sportinglife.com/golf/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=golf/07/03/12/GOLF_Atwal.html Atwal Investigated After Crash Death] ] Atwal was not injured, and after a year of investigation, the case was closed with no charges filed. [ [http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/ny-spmark085606478mar08,0,1403800.column No charges pressed, so Atwal can press on] ]

Professional wins (9)

European Tour wins (3)

*2002 Caltex Singapore Masters presented by Carlsberg (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)
*2003 Carlsberg Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)
*2008 Maybank Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)

Asian Tour wins (7)

*1999 Wills Indian Open
*2000 Hero Honda Masters, Star Alliance Open
*2002 Caltex Singapore Masters presented by Carlsberg (co-sanctioned with European Tour)
*2003 Carlsberg Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with European Tour), Hero Honda Masters
*2008 Maybank Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with European Tour)

Other wins (2)

*1995 DCM Open
*1997 Classic Southern India Open

Results in major championships

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Team appearances

*Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2006

ee also

*Golfers with most Asian Tour wins

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/02/14/07 Profile on PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.europeantour.com/publish.sps?pageid=127&pagegid=%7B20E6AA6B%2D0225%2D4C71%2DBD89%2D2ACBEE615D69%7D&playerId=1888 Profile on European Tour's official site]
* [http://www.asiantour.com/player.htm?id=44 Profile on Asian Tour's official site]
* [http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/players/bio.sps?ID=5701 Results in ranking tournaments over the last two years from the Official World Golf Ranking site]