Arjun Atwal wins Singapore Masters

Arjun Atwal of Kolkata made history, by becoming the first Indian and only the fourth Asian professional golfer to win a European PGA Tour event, when he won the $-900,000 Caltex Singapore Masters by an emphatic margin of five strokes at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club, on Sunday.

Atwal, who led by one stroke after the third round at 10-under, fired a bogey-free final round of four-under 68 to tally 14-under 274 for the tournament.

Australian lefthander Richard Green closed with a 70 to finish second while superstar Nick Faldo was placed third, a stroke further back.

Atwal is in his rookie season on the European Tour but played liked a seasoned campaigner.

"The reality is yet to sink in. After the final putt, everything happened so fast. the prize distribution ceremony, the media interviews, the hand shakes. and so on. Now that I am back in the hotel, I am beginning to feel the magnitude of the achievement," said Atwal over phone from Singapore.

Atwal became only the fourth Asian to win in Europe. Taiwan's Lu Liang-huan, better known as 'Mr Lu', won the French Open in 1971, Japan's Isao Aoki won the European Open in 1983, and Taiwan's Yeh Wei-tze won the Malaysian Open in 2000.

"Jeev (Milkha Singh) has come close to winning before in South Africa on the European Tour, but I didn't expect to win so quickly. I'll take it. I expected to win the way I was playing this year," said Atwal, who won US$-150,030. The win lifted him to sixth place in the European Tour Order of Merit and also earned him a two-year exemption on the Tour.

"You will have to believe me when I say there was absolutely no pressure on me. I had willed myself into not expecting too much after taking the lead on the third day. I just wanted to play a normal round of golf," said a beaming Atwal.

"What makes me very happy is the fact that I did not make a single bogey. That, I thought, was pretty significant," added the Indian star.

"Last week's Hero Honda Masters was a great learning experience for me. When I made those three straight birdies on the front nine on the final day, I put too much of pressure on myself and tried to make things happen. That's when I messed it all up. This time I was determined not to do a repeat performance," said Atwal, who turns 30 on March 20.

Atwal was in terrific form and played a solid round on the final day. He found 16 out of 18 greens in regulation.

"I Just felt very comfortable with the way I was hitting the ball and knew if I hung in there I would be okay and this was the perfect week to peak. I hit the ball really solid today. That was my game plan, to not get into the situation itself. Just stay in the present and make sure I hit the ball well and see what happens. If someone beats me then fine but not to beat myself. I didn't beat myself today and played well," added Atwal.

The Indian started the day with a one-stroke lead but was never challenged as he toured the Masters Course without dropping a shot. He played the front nine in three-under-par 33 to lead by four and then birdied 11 to give himself a comfortable cushion playing the closing holes.

"Hopefully, this win will do wonders for golf in India. Maybe, this will show the way to all the young kids who have started playing seriously in India and are thinking of turning pro that there is a future in golf for them," Atwal said.

Among the other Indians, Gaurav Ghei tied for the 10th place at five-under 283 after a round of two-under 70, while Jyoti Randhawa shot a one-under 71 be tied for the 30th place. Hero Honda Masters champion Harmeet Kahlon shot a 75 and finished joint 58th at four-over 292.

SCORES (after 72 holes): 274 - Arjun Atwal (IND) 70-69-67-68; 279 - Richard Green (AUS) 69-72-68-70; 280 - Nick Faldo (ENG) 68-69-73-70; 281 - Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 73-69-72-67, Ted Purdy (USA) 69-69-73-70; 282 - Jim Johnson (USA) 69-67-72-74, James Kingston (RSA) 70-70-72-70, Richard Johnson (SWE) 72-70-69-71, Chris Williams (ENG) 67-71-73-71; 283 - Andrew Pitts (USA) 73-69-73-68, Gaurav Ghei (IND) 69-70-74-70, Stephen Leaney (AUS) 70-71-74-68, Eduardo Romero (ARG) 69-71-75-68, Nick O'Hern (AUS) 64-71-72-76, Unho Park (AUS) 67-73-74-69, Anthony Kang (KOR) 69-73-71-70; 284 - Charlie Wi (KOR) 70-67-72-75

Other Indians: 287 (T-30) _ Jyoti Randhawa 67-75-74-71; 292 (T-58) _ Harmeet Kahlon 69-71-77-76.