145;Sometimes it all falls into place146;

After fighting injury and legal battles, Atwal regains PGA Tour card by becoming first Indian to win on American soil.

Not for the first time in the past couple of years, it looked like he had given it all away. Not for the first time, seemingly oblivious to doubts and shaking heads, he refused to stay down.

After two years of fighting for a place back in the mainstream of American golf, a battle with form and injury and a courtroom tussle in a road accident charge, a last-minute blip and a nervy play-off didn8217;t deter Arjun Atwal. The 35-year-old faced both on Sunday and came out clutching a first-ever win by an Indian on American soil, his second title of the year, and, most importantly, the certainty of a PGA Tour card for 2009.

That last came disguised as 90,000, the winning share from the Chattanooga Classic, which shoots him up to 15th spot on the PGA8217;s Nationwide Tour money list. With two more tournaments to go, his place in the top league is certain.

8220;There is just the feeling of relief at the moment. It8217;s just a big, big pressure off me,8221; Atwal said, speaking to The Indian Express after his win. 8220;And I8217;m extremely proud of winning in America, the first Indian to do so. It feels great to think about it.8221;

Those last-minute blues hadn8217;t looked likely as Atwal seemed to take the desperation of last few tournaments to make his move up from the 34th spot by the neck. He had shot a 12-under in the second round, a 24-under over 54 holes and a three-shot lead going into the last day.

The charge wobbled as first an errant tee shot and then a two-putt on the par-four 16th brought him level with nearest placed Webb Simpson, who had birdied the 15th. Play-offs obviously bring out the best in Atwal, though, who won the European Tour8217;s Malaysian Open this March with one, and who calmly two-putted from 25 feet for a birdie on the first extra hole on Sunday, the par-five 18th, and Simpson missed his five-footer.

8220;Really, I would much rather win in regulation,8221; Atwal laughed. 8220;That double on 16th was a bit of a disappointment, but I kept telling myself that the tournament was mine to win. So, stepping onto the 18th, I wasn8217;t going to let myself be nervous. It8217;s just another hole.8221;

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The celebrations will be quiet, for now. 8220;I have achieved my one big goal for the year. It8217;s something I8217;d been trying to achieve for so long. But there are more goals that I8217;m going to focus on, before I even think about next year. I8217;ll be playing in Asia towards the end of the year, and hopefully end on a high there too,8221; Atwal said. 8220;This week everything went right. Putting, my iron play, confidence. Sometimes everything falls in place, you need everything to fall in place, and this week, it all did.8221;