It has been another good week for Indian golf. Arjun Atwal won his first tournament on the Nationwide Tour ? the US$ 500,000 Chattanooga Classic Golf and with US$ 248,986 dollars to his credit as this seasons money earnings; he has earned his PGA Tour card. Atwal, who carded a 12-under-par, 60 in the second round was 24-under-par for 54-holes, which not only set a new tournament record but it is the lowest score for three rounds on the Nationwide Tour this year. However, Atwal won his second tournament this year ? the first was the Malaysian Open on the European Tour ? yet again in a playoff. Carding a level-par 72 in the final round courtesy a double bogey on the 16th hole, Arjun tied Webb Simpson with a tournament total of 24-under-par, 264. But a birdie on the fist playoff hole sealed his win and a ticket to the PGA Tour for 2009 as he moved from 34th to 15th on the Money List ? the top-25 ranked players on the Nationwide Tour earn their cards and graduate onto the PGA tour every year.
While Arjun has achieved his goal of playing on the PGA Tour again, Jeev Milkha Singh has the statistics on his side. Ranked 58th in the world, he is 36th on the World Money List with US$ 2,172,213 in earnings so far this year. He is ranked 10th on the Order of Merit on the European Tour and 94th for Career Earnings, also on the European Tour with 3,132,739 euros in career earnings. His stroke average for the 81 rounds that he has played is 70.54 ? for which he is ranked third. Jeev also holds the record for the maximum number of birdies in one tournament on the European Tour ? 30, which he made during the Ballantines Open in Korea earlier this year, which he lost in a playoff. That?s not all. On the PGA Tour he is the fourth highest earner on the non-member list of the highest earners for 2008.
Daniel who was playing the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children in Las Vegas, finished 15th with a score of 18-under-par and moved to 46th on the PGA tour Money List. He also achieved the rare feat of a double eagle ? carding a two on a par-five ? when he pitched his six-iron straight into the hole from 220-yards n the ninth hole in the second round.
Jyoti Randhawa also had a good start to the week on the European Tour where he was playing the Portugal Masters. He was placed second after the first round as a result of a bogey-free 66, but eventually finished the tournament in 30th place. It?s an important week for Shiv Kapur who is working hard to keep his card in Europe where is currently ranked 116th ? and the top 115 players keep their playing privileges for the following year ? and Shiv has just one more week to secure his card on the European Tour.
On the Asian Tour, Rahil Gangjee carded a ninth place finish in the Midea China Classic. And one youngster to watch, Gaganjeet Bhullar is close to keeping his card on the Asian Tour ? which will earn him complete playing rights ? in just his second year on the tour.
The writer is an expert on golf