JOY CHAKRAVARTY CATCHES UP WITH INDIAN LEGEND ARJUN ATWAL, TWO-TIME WINNER OF THE MALAYSIAN OPEN INCLUDING THE LAST TIME IT WAS HELD AT KOTA PERMAI 12 YEARS AGO.
He really is India’s version of the ‘Big Easy’. Laidback to a fault, Arjun Atwal likes to do things at his own pace. But behind his sparkling, ever-smiling genial eyes, the loose-limbed walk down the fairways and the languid grace of his golf swing, hides a fierce competitor – one who is in a very exclusive club of players to have won the Malaysian Open title twice.
The 46-year-old from Kolkata, who now resides in Florida, won the 2003 Malaysian Open at The Mines with a dominating performance that saw him shoot 24-under par, and then reclaimed the title in 2008 at Kota Permai after beating defending champion Peter Hedblom of Sweden in a dramatic play-off. That Sunday, Atwal shot an eight-under par 64 to make up a final-round deficit of seven shots.
As the Malaysian Open makes a comeback on the world golf schedule after a hiatus of four years, Atwal is glad that the event is returning to Kota Permai, scene of one of his most important career wins.
“There is something about Malaysia I love. I have always played well there. I can’t pinpoint a technical reason, but I think it has got to do with the Malaysian people,” he said in an exclusive interview with ParGolf.
Arjun’s emotional win at Kota Permai in 2008 (©Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
“Even when I won in 2003, I made just one double bogey when I hit it out of bounds on one of the holes and did not drop a single shot in the other 71 holes.
“I just love the place, and the people. They just feel like my kind of people … completely chilled out. You’d rarely see a Malaysian in a rush or hurrying. I love that vibe.”
The win at Kota Permai came on March 9, just 11 days before his 34th birthday, but more importantly, exactly 365 days after a fatal car crash in which Atwal was suspected of being involved in street racing with the owner of the other car.
It was a torrid time for the Atwals, at a time when his wife, Sona, was expecting their second child (Shiva) and his eldest son Krishen was two. If charged with vehicular homicide and proved, Atwal could have faced jail time of 30 years.
“Most people know that I was being investigated for the car crash at that time. But a couple of weeks before that win, I was in Indonesia when I got a call from Sona saying it was all over and there were no charges against me. I just felt a big weight lifting off my shoulders right there,” remembers Atwal.
“I wasn’t playing that well, but I wasn’t playing bad either. I remember going into the final round at Kota Permai and I didn’t think I had a chance of winning. I told my caddy that I am going to fire at every pin and see what happens.
A light moment with good friend Tiger Woods at the 2011 Frys.com Open (©Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
“I just felt free the whole round … my mind was at ease. I think I had seven one-putts over the last seven holes. I reached the 18th hole and had a 15-footer for birdie, and I instinctively knew that I was going to make it.”
Atwal said even after shooting 64, he never thought he’d make it to a play-off.
“That play-off was something,” he recalls. “I really did not expect to get into it. I had to wait for nearly an hour for Peter to finish and I was eating whatever I could get my hands on.
“Someone asked me why didn’t I go and warm up. I just laughed and said, ‘Warm up? In Malaysia? When do you ever cool down here!’
“Peter hit it into the water on the first hole and still made a par and I botched it as well and had to make a putt from 15 feet to make a par myself. I really had to put my mind back into winning the tournament. It definitely wasn’t pretty, but I got the job done in the end,” adds Atwal, who returned to Malaysia in 2018 as captain of Team Asia for the EurAsia Cup match against Europe.
Atwal said the 2008 Malaysian Open win may not be the biggest – tough to beat a PGA Tour win (2010 Wyndham Championship) after being a Monday qualifier – but it was definitely the most crucial win of his career.
“Given the circumstances in which I won, I’d say it was one of the most important wins of my career. I had a back injury, and I really did not know where I was going in my life because of the car crash,” said Atwal.
“I did not play in Asia after that and headed back to the US and played on what was the Nationwide Tour then. I won a tournament and got back my PGA Tour card. I don’t think the Nationwide win would have been possible if not for Malaysia. And I am not sure I would have secured my PGA Tour card if not for it.”
After his win, Atwal was quick to credit his good friend and then World No 1 Tiger Woods for his support throughout the ordeal. Things haven’t changed in all these years.
Having suffered from a debilitating back issue for the past few years, the Indian ace said Tiger had a role to play in his ‘new’ swing, and also in having a positive mind-set seeing the recent success of the 15-time Major champion.
With the Seagram Trophy at The Mines in 2003 (©Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
“I keep talking to Tiger whenever I have any problems and he will tell me a couple of things which always seem to help,” said Atwal.
“We have almost similar back-type of issues. He tries to find ways of alleviating pressure on the lower back. I think we have figured out a way of doing that, which helps … a lot. I don’t mind the upper back getting tight now and then, but as long as the lower back is okay, I know I can play good golf. He has been helping me with my swing and it is coming together quite nicely now.
“If you watch my swing closely, it has got a little bit less movement in it now. And it is not the best thing to do, but I have kind of started straightening up right after impact. I don’t stay in that spine angle much longer than I need to. It’s tough to explain, but it has taken a lot of pressure off my back and I can hit a lot more balls now without killing myself.
“Tiger, of course, is doing fantastic. It’s good to see someone getting results doing it that way. We have been friends a long time and of course, I am over the moon that he has been playing so well and doing great on and off the golf course. However, I am even more happy that Tiger has matured a lot in these last few years and he is showing the world what kind of a person he really is. He is not guarded anymore and he is more willing to show his emotions. This is the Tiger I have always known and I am glad other people are seeing him that way.
“Tiger is constantly motivating. I think he is going to do more amazing things on the golf course. The place that he has been to, and the peace that he has now, he has found the right balance in life and he has inspired me to get there. I think I just need to do well on a golf course with a scorecard in my hand now. It’s a slow process for me because I am obviously not the ‘Chosen One’ like Tiger is, but I am getting there!”
With wife Sona, sons Krishen (left) and Shiva (second from left) and nephew Laksh after winning the 2014 Dubai Open
FACT FILE
Full Name Arjun Singh Atwal
Birthdate March 20, 1973
Birthplace Asansol, India
Residence Windermere, Florida
Professional Wins
PGA Tour – 1/ European Tour – 3 / Asian Tour – 8 / Nationwide Tour – 1 / Others – 2
Family
Wife – Sona; Sons – Krishen (age 16), Shiva (age 13)
Interests Movies, sports, cars
