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Arjun Atwal, who in August became the first player from India to win a US PGA title, fired a six-under par 66 yesterday to share the lead after the first round of the Viking Classic.
Arjun Atwal, who in August became the first player from India to win a US PGA title, fired a six-under par 66 yesterday to share the lead after the first round of the Viking Classic.
u00a0Atwal was alongside Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge and Americans Bill Lunde, Ken Duke, Bill Haas and Brett Quigley atop the leaderboard at the 3.6 million-dollar event. Atwal began on the back nine and closed it with a pair of birdies, then birdied four of the next seven holes before taking his lone bogey at the eighth but responding with a closing birdie at the ninth. Six weeks ago, Atwal won the Wyndham Championship to capture a top prize of 918,000 dollars, a two-year tour exemption and tributes from sport leaders in his homeland, which has only one course for every six million people.
De Jonge was the only afternoon starter among the co-leaders, starting on the back nine with five birdies in seven holes. After bogeys at the par-5 18th and the par-4 fourth, he birdied the par-5 fifth and eagled the par-5 eighth with a 17-foot putt. Most of the field in this and the four final US events are playing for a spot among the top 125 money winners for the year to ensure themselves a spot on the 2011 tour, but de Jonge is not among them.
The African sits 36th on the money list but wants to boost himself into the top 30 for the year.
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