India Legendary Star 03:33, 12/08/2020

Chuah Choo Chiang - Senior director at PGA TOUR

Atwal has deservedly earned legendary stature in India and Asia due to his trailblazing success on golf’s finest fairways, which includes becoming the first Indian to play and subsequently triumph on the game’s biggest stage,

He is also a man of many firsts. Atwal was the first from the sub- continent to win a European Tour event (2002), the foremost golfer to earn over US$1 million in career earnings on the Asian Tour (2003) and the first to taste victory on the Korn Ferry Tour (2008).

For all his easy-going and laidback demeanour, the Indian, now 47 years young, is still as ambitious as he was at 22 when he joined the play-for-pay ranks. While he believes he can still

compete at the highest level – he briefly held the co-lead during the third round of the recent Rocket Mortgage Classic – he has set more lofty goals by stating his intention to win on PGA TOUR Champions when he becomes eligible for the over-50 circuit.

The former Asian No. 1 says he has never felt this good in a long time. Throughout a career which saw him garner eight Asian Tour wins including three European Tour co-sanctioned titles and the region’s Order of Merit crown, he endured some difficult times with debilitating back and shoulder injuries. In 231 PGA TOUR events, Atwal enjoyed one win, 11 top-10s and 29 top-25s which his overall report card could have indicated better stats if not for those setbacks.

Hence at the turn of a new decade, Atwal made a pledge to get fitter, trimmer and stronger. When he showed up in Detroit last month, he had shed 15 pounds to bring his weight back to 185 pounds which was the number he tipped on the scales in his PGA TOUR debut in 2004. With his wife Sona’s help, he now consumes only healthy food, stopped the casual alcohol intake, works out at the gym four times a week and diligently practices yoga to ensure he remains supple and agile.

This August will mark exactly 10 years when Atwal wrote a slice of Asian golf history when by winning the Wyndham Championship. As a Monday qualifier, he led from start to finish to become India’s first winner on the PGA TOUR, fulfilling his American dream which began when he attended high school in New York.

“There’s definitely pride in what I’ve done in my career. Playing on the Asian Tour taught me a lot and it’s a matter of pride to be first Indian to win on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, European Tour … that’s not bad. I’ve always dreamt about playing here and this is the dream. Hopefully I can become the first Indian to win on Champions as well. There may be generations doing much more after me but they can’t take away being the first. It’s pretty cool coming from a country of 1.3 billion people.”