Arjun Singh Atwal (born 20 March 1973) is an Indian

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who has played on the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

and the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

and is the first player born in India to become a member of, and later win a tournament on the U.S.-based

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

Early life

Born in a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

family to Harminder Singh Atwal (a well known industrialist) of

Asansol Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bar ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, West Bengal, India. He attended St. James' School in Kolkata. Atwal took up golf at the age of 14, playing at the

Royal Calcutta Golf Club Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) in Kolkata, India was established in 1829 and is the oldest golf club in India and the first outside Great Britain. RCGC has an 18-hole golf course with the following detail: *Yardage: 7195/6871 *Par: 72 *Ratin ...

and

Tollygunge Club The Tollygunge Club (Bengali: টালিগঞ্জ ক্লাব), popularly called Tolly, is a country club in India, located in Tollygunge in south Kolkata. Sir William Cruikshank established the club as an equestrian sports facility i ...

. He also spent two years at school in the United States, attending

W. Tresper Clarke High School W. T. Clarke High School is a high school in Salisbury, New York. It is operated by the East Meadow Union Free School District, also known as the East Meadow School District. The school serves students living in Salisbury, East Meadow, and Levit ...

, in

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is located a ...

Career

After turning professional in 1995 he became one of the leading players on the Asian Tour, topping the order of merit in 2003 and becoming the first man to win a million U.S. dollars on the tour by winning the Hero Honda Masters on home soil in the same year. Atwal was the second Indian golfer to earn membership of the European Tour after

Jeev Milkha Singh Jeev Milkha Singh (born 15 December 1971) is an Indian professional golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998. He has won four events on the European Tour, becoming the most successful Indian on tour. He ...

and the first to win on a European Tour event when he notched up a five stroke victory in the 2002

Caltex Singapore Masters The Singapore Masters was an annual men's professional golf tournament which was played in Singapore from 2001 to 2007. It was co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour, and was one of many European Tour events established in East Asi ...

, which was co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours. A second European Tour win followed at the

Carlsberg Malaysian Open The Malaysian Open is a men's professional golf tournament currently played on the Asian Tour. Notable past winners include world number one golfers Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood (both players winning the event on two occasions). Other notable ...

in 2003. Late in the same year Atwal finished seventh at the PGA Tour's

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

in the U.S., earning a PGA Tour card for 2004, making him the first native East Indian golfer to do so. (The most famous golfer of Indian origin, longtime PGA Tour mainstay and multiple major winner

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...

, is a native of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

.) In his 2004 rookie season on the PGA Tour, he finished 142nd on the money list. In 2005, Atwal came close to winning on the PGA Tour numerous times, most notably at the

BellSouth Classic The Atlanta Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, a regular stop in suburban Atlanta for over four decades. It was founded in 1967, although previous events dating to 1934 are included in the PGA Tour's past winners list. AT&T was the las ...

in April. After posting a 64 (the low round for any golfer in the tournament) in the final round of the rain-shortened event, he wound up in a five-man sudden death playoff along with

Rich Beem Richard Michael Beem (born August 24, 1970) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and is best known for his upset victory at the 2002 PGA Championship. Beem was born in Phoenix, Arizona, grew up in El Paso, Texas, and pla ...

José María Olazábal José María Olazábal Manterola (, ; born 5 February 1966) is a Spanish professional golfer from the Basque region who has enjoyed success on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and has won two major championships, both at The Masters. ...

Brandt Jobe Brandt William Jobe (born August 1, 1965) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour. He has also played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and the Japan Golf Tour. Early life and amateur career Jobe was born ...

and

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...

. On the first hole of the playoff, the par-5 18th, Atwal's second shot went into the water, yet he almost holed his fourth shot. If he had done so, he would have made birdie and won (Mickelson, Beem and Olazabal made pars, while Jobe bogeyed.) After two-putting the green, Atwal made bogey, and he and Jobe were eliminated. Mickelson went on to win the tournament. Atwal finished 82nd on the money list in 2005 to secure his spot on Tour for 2006. Atwal was involved in a crash possibly associated with street racing on SR 535, in Windermere, Florida, on 10 March 2007, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Atwal was not injured, and after a year of investigation, the case was closed with no charges filed. A second driver, John Noah Park, 48, was killed in the incident. After the 2010

RBC Canadian Open The Canadian Open (french: L'Omnium Canadien) is a professional golf tournament in Canada. It is co-organized by Golf Canada (formerly known as the Royal Canadian Golf Association) and the PGA Tour. It was first played in 1904, and has been hel ...

, Atwal lost his PGA Tour card after his medical exemption, received due to a shoulder injury, ran out and he had failed to earn enough money. He later regained his playing privileges on the PGA Tour through 2012 and obtained an invitation into the

2011 Masters Tournament The 2011 Masters Tournament was the 75th Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club. Charl Schwartzel birdied the final four holes to win his first major championship, two strokes ahead of runners-up Adam Scott and Jason ...

by Monday qualifying for and later recording his maiden victory on the PGA Tour at the

Wyndham Championship The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usua ...

, the final tournament of the regular season. He became the first Indian-born player to ever win on the PGA Tour, and was the first

Monday qualifier A Monday qualifier is a stroke play golf tournament held on the Monday before a professional golf tournament that awards top finishers entry into the professional tournament. Those who enter the Monday qualifiers are those with no status on the tou ...

to win a PGA Tour event since

Fred Wadsworth } Frederick Willi Wadsworth (born July 17, 1962) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and South Africa's Sunshine Tour. Wadsworth was born in Munich, Germany and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He attended the Un ...

won the 1986

Southern Open The Southern Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1970 to 2002. It was played at the Green Island Country Club in Columbus, Georgia, from 1970 to 1990 and at the Callaway Gardens Resort (Mountain View Course), Pine Mountain, Georgia, ...

. Because he had lost his tour card, he received no

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...

points for his victory and had not earned enough points previously to make the playoffs. He has been a neighbour and practice partner of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

for five years at home in Florida. After failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup in 2010, Atwal entered the 2011 playoff series 123rd. Atwal had only two top-10 finishes in the two years after his win and lost his Tour card after the 2012 season. In 2014, Atwal had his first win in four years at the Dubai Open on the

. The win earned Atwal a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour.

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

European Tour wins (3)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

Asian Tour wins (8)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Asian Tour playoff record (1–1)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other wins (3)

*1995 DCM Open *1997 Classic Southern India Open *2000 Wills Eastern Open

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Professional *

Dynasty Cup Dynasty Cup was an East Asian international association football tournament. The tournament was held every 2 or 3 years. It was hosted by Beijing in 1990 and 1992, Hong Kong in 1995, Yokohama and Tokyo in 1998. In 2002 the East Asian Football F ...

(representing Asia): 2003 (winners) *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing India):

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Royal Trophy The Royal Trophy was a men's professional team golf tournament which was played between 2006 and 2013. The competing teams represented Europe and Asia. Eight man teams played a series of 16 matches involving foursomes, four-ball and singles for the ...

(representing Asia):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

EurAsia Cup The EurAsia Cup was a biennial men's professional team golf tournament between teams representing Europe and Asia. It started in 2014, superseding the Royal Trophy which had been played from 2006 to 2013. It was previously held at the Glenmarie ...