Arjun Atwal putts India on the US fairways

‘‘Playing on the PGA Tour is every golfers dream and I am glad that I have achieved it. This is perhaps the defining moment of my career, but I also realise that this is just the beginning’’, Atwal said.

Though Atwal and Jeev Milkha Singh have been participating in the qualifying stages for the US tour for the past four years, this achievement is a great leap for India golf. After all, the game is still largely seen in India as a leisure activity; the US tour, meanwhile, is as cut-throat and professional as sport gets.

However, Atwal’s feat is no surprise: Indian golfers have been making steady progress over the past few years, beginning with Jeev Milkha qualifying for the European tour in the mid-90s.

Last year, Atwal became the first Indian to win on the European tour, Jeev became the first to qualify for the US Open and amateur Shiv Kapur took the gold at the Asian Games.

Vijay Singh’s visit to ndia exactly a year ago raised the game’s profile here and the country’s profile abroad, when others outside the continent were just becoming aware of the sport’s existence in India.
And the firsts have been piling up in 2003:

• Jyoti Randhawa became the first Indian to win the Asian PGA Tour’s Order of Merit

• Atwal won the Malaysian Open

• Jyoti then became the first Indian to win on the Japanese tour — considered as tough as the US tour

• Atwal became the first golfer to cross a million dollars in earnings on the Asian tour

• A two-member Indian team qualified to participate in the recently held World Cup in Hawaii.

Atwal, who will now participate in the Volvo Masters of Asia, enroute to claiming the Asian PGA Tour’s Order of Merit title, which he leads, will probably have playing rights on all four tours in the world next year.

Also advancing to the elite tour was India-born Swede Daniel Chopra, Atwal’s close friend and roommate for the week, who had narrowly missed out last year.