Atwal ties tournament record at Wyndham
Arjun Atwal could be getting his PGA Tour card back sooner than he expected. Atwal is playing at the Greensboro golf course for the Wyndham Championship and matched the tournament record when he shot a 61 Thursday in the opening round. Atwal had a two shot lead and was nine under after the first day.
Atwal’s 61 ties Carl Pettersson’s score from two years ago when the Wyndham Championship was played at the Sedgefueld Country Club. The Wyndham Championship is the last PGA Tour event before the FedEx Cup play-off begins at The Barclay’s on August 26th.
Atwal lost his tour card last month. He injured his shoulders lifting weights a year ago and received a medical extension, however, Atwal came up short on the money list after the RBC Canadian Open and his card was revoked.
Atwal played his way into the Wyndham Championship in a qualifier Monday at the Forest Oaks Country Club. The Wyndham Championship had been held at Forest Oaks from 1977-2007, and Atwal has played on it twice before. His best finish had been sixth place in 2004, but on Monday he shot a 67 to share first place with three other qualifiers. The last time a Monday qualifier won a tournament was in 1986 when Fred Wadsworth won the Southern Open.
“You get used to making a lot of birdies in the Monday qualifier – otherwise you won't make it," Atwal said. "I kind of continued that today."
If Atwal wins or climbs higher on the money list he can reclaim his Tour card. He isn’t eligible for the FedEx Cup play-off events that begin at the end of August, but he isn’t upset about that. For Atwal it’s all about getting his card back. “I prefer to win,” he said with a laugh.
Atwal opened the tournament with a bogey-free back nine. He birdied three of his final four holes, including one rare birdie on the difficult 18th hole.
Brandt Snedeker shot a 63 for runner up in the first day. He was eight under through 17 holes, but sent his third shot well past the pin and his 35-foot shot for birdie fell short by a couple feet. He bogeyed and fell off the lead.
Snedeker won the 2007 Wyndham Championship. Other than the 18th hole, Snedeker played a brilliant back nine which included six birdies in a seven hole stretch. Five of those birdies were consecutive starting on the 13th and ending after the 17th. “I realized that it's going to be a long tournament, a long week," Snedeker said. “A guy that shoots 9 under is not going to shoot 9 under for four straight rounds, so it's going to be kind of, wait until you get hot, and when you get hot, take advantage of it, and when you don't, try to minimize your mistakes."
Atwal has been playing on the European and Asian Tours since he went professional in 1995. He was the first native East Indian golfer to become a member of the PGA Tour when he earned his card in 2004. He has never won a PGA Tour championship but has come close several times throughout his career
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