Arjun

Atwal

Atwal joined the field on Thursday morning when Nicholas Lindheim was an 11th-hour WD. Atwal took full advantage with nine birdies in round one at Port Royal. He arrived without much prep or practice at all, “Last Friday was the first time I played since my dad passed. Before that was Barracuda, I think, or somewhere. That was the last tournament I played and that was it. I hadn’t touched my clubs since, yeah.” His key to success was the putter as he poured home nine birdies despite landing just 12 GIR.

The 36-year-old has made just four starts this season, missing the cut in three of them. He hasn’t played a full season since 2015 but still finds his way into a handful of events each year, thanks to his victory at the 2012 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. He hasn’t landed a top 25 since 2015 so he will remain off the fantasy radar for the foreseeable future.

The 48-year-old was 10-over thru nine holes (1 birdie, 4 bogeys, 2 doubles, 1 triple), 11-over total when he called it a day. This is his fourth mid-tourney WD in 240 events, first since the 2013 Sanderson Farms. The Florida resident arrived 1-for-5 on the season, cashing a T70 at the first Corales of the season back in September (73-68-69-77). His most recent top 10 among 11 total is a T10 at the 2012 McGladrey Classic, while his lone TOUR win came at the 2010 Wyndham as an open-qualifier and 54-hole leader by three.

Atwal traded six birdies with one bogey today while taking on Banyan Cay Resort & Golf. That left him one spot off the top spot which was held by three golfers (Daniel Wetterich, Hayden Buckley, and Andrew McCain). From there, Atwal did battle with Adam Svensson for the last spot. An update from Ryan French on Twitter let us know how that playoff went, “On first playoff hole Adam Svensson hit his 2nd on the Par 5 to about 35 ft. Arjun Atwal missed the green by 15 yds.... and chipped in to win the playoff.” It was quite a dramatic way to earn entry into the event. Atwal will now attempt to earn his first paycheck at The Honda Classic, owning an 0-for-5 record at the event over the course of his career.

The 46-year-old is chasing his second TOUR win in 218 events, first since the 2010 Wyndham 98 starts ago, also as an open-qualifier and as the 54-hole leader by three. He mustered seven (of 14) fairways and hit 15 greens in regulation, losing 2.157 strokes off-the-tee but gaining 1.835 approaching and 0.731 around-the-green. The Florida resident ate a double bogey-6 at 14 (tee ball in the water), outpaced by five birdies at 5, 7, and a hat-trick at 16-18. He posted 1.733 putts per GIR and 0.450 SG: Putting, converting two scoring tries from between eight and 31 feet.

The 46-year-old owns one TOUR win in 218 events, the 2010 Wyndham Championship as an OQer, where he led/co-led after each of the first three rounds. He’s not played a full season on the main stage since 2012 (when his exemption ran out from the Wyndham win), and prior to Corey Conners at this season’s Valero, was the last OQer to win on TOUR. The Indian, who lives in Windemere, Florida, landed 10 (of 14) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, losing 0.909 strokes off-the-tee but gaining 0.084 approaching and 1.040 around-the-green. He scribbled down three birdies at 15, 18 and 7, each from between 13 and 30 feet, registering 2.149 SG: Putting with 28 total putts, buoyed by a walk-off, 22-foot 7-inch par-saver at the ninth. This is Atwal’s third start of the season after a missed cut at the Corales 14 weeks ago, and a 70th at the Puerto Rico Open back in February, both opposite-field events.

The 46-year-old made it look easy today by striping 9-of-14 fairways and pelting 14 greens. From there, he gave himself eight scoring chances from inside 15 feet but saved the best for last. After a 300-yard drive at the closing par 5, he laid up to a favorable yardage (130). It turned out to be very favorable as he holed the shot for a walk-off eagle to reach 6-under on the round. Atwal walked off the course gaining 2.9 strokes on approach which is his best single-round performance in that category since R2 of the 2015 St. Jude Classic (3.2 SG Approach).

Atwal swallowed one bogey today but easily erased the blemish with eight birdies and an eagle. As a result, we will now get to see Atwal in action for the first time since a missed cut at the Corales in March. The 46-year-old hasn’t cracked a top 30 worldwide since a T10 at the Myanmar Open (Japan Golf Tour) in January of 2018. Others to play their way through qualifying were Mark Baldwin (-8), Brian Dwyer (-7), and Nyasha Mauchaza (-7). The latter two survived a 3-for-2 playoff with Brendon Todd being the odd-man out.

The Indian does not lack for experience in Malaysia. In fact he has racked up no less than 26 starts in the country over the years and he’s enjoyed plenty of success too. There were a pair of third places in the late 1990s and then he peaked with victories at the Malaysian Open in 2003 and 2008. That event kind of became this one and yet none of those stellar efforts were witnessed on this course. In fact he has struggled here, going 2-for-4 with a best of T34 in 2018. His form is shaky too. He’s gone T51-T70 in 2019 and before that ended 2018 with a run of 15 events without a top 30 (which started at this event).

The Indian broke a terrible run of form with this effort which comes nearly one year to the day since he led the Mauritius Open through three rounds before losing a play-off. But he’s had no top 30 since January and arrived on a run of 0-for-5. Moreover he has little course form to speak of: a best of T12, his only top 25, in 10 starts and a R1 best of 69 before Thursday. Furthermore the conditions were unhelpful. “It was really tough out there today,” he said. “Especially early in the morning, it was really cold and windy. I know it’s a cliché, but on this golf course if you start hitting it sideways, you’re going to make a lot of bogeys. I really haven’t played much this year and when I have it hasn’t been all that great.” He made no bogeys and his four birdies came in six holes (17, 1, 3, 4).