Late entrant Arjun Atwal shines with 63

Southampton (Bermuda), October 28

Indian golfer Arjun Atwal turned back the clock with a sensational 8-under 63 to lie one stroke off the lead after the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship here.

The 49-year-old Atwal, the only Indian to win on the PGA Tour, produced his lowest round in 10 years with nine birdies. He trails co-leaders Austin Smotherman and Harrison Endycott.

“The only thing I could see was hopefully I could get around this place walking because I haven’t played much golf,” said Atwal. “I lost my father about three months ago in India, so I went over there. I just haven’t played golf, and forget walking,” he added.

“I’ve never had a loss in my immediate family, so it’s really hard to deal with. And with my parents, they lived in India. My mom still lives in India. Not having seen them for all these years, it was really tough on me.”

After finding out that he was in the field because of a late withdrawal and had only 20 minutes to prepare, Atwal cut short his breakfast and headed to the course. He came out of the blocks with three straight birdies and hit two more to turn in 30. A bogey on the 10th was quickly offset by four more birdies on his inward nine.

Atwal’s last PGA tour start was the 3M Open in July when he was disqualified for not signing his scorecard after the first round.

“I putted really well. This is the way I used to putt. I brought my old putter with me,” Atwal said.

Senior tour

As he turns 50 next March, the Indian will be looking to switch his attention to the PGA Tour Champions, the senior tour. “I’ve already entered the finals of Q-School in Phoenix. I’m going to go for that if my body holds up. I’ll still have a few starts like the Senior British because of my worldwide wins. But I’m just really looking forward to playing out there with my buddies because I really don’t know too many people on this tour anymore… all my friends are on the Champions Tour, so I’m really looking forward to that,” said Atwal, who is based in Orlando.