Atwal sizzles at Heritage Classic, tied 10th after first round

South Carolina, Apr 14 (UNI) Arjun Atwal put the disappointment of missing the cut in last four tournaments behind him and charged up to the tied 10th spot with an impressive four-under 67 start at the 5.2 million dollar Heritage Classic here.

However, it turned out to be a horrendous day for Indian-born Swede Daniel Chopra, who got off to the worst possible start with a three-over 74 to finish tied 101st after the first round.

The Orlando-based Atwal, who missed the cut in four back-to-back tournaments before this, Played his back-nine first and gained two shots on the 12th and 15th holes to round off a blemish-free start.

This was followed by a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth to sixth holes but just when it looked that Atwal would finish the day with a bogey-free round, he dropped a shot on the first and his last hole of the day, which prevented him from completing an overall good performance on a high.

Meanwhile, Chopra, who missed the cut in the last two USPGA events, had a disastrous start and a birdie and an eagle on the in the front-nine were the only highlights of his otherwise poor show.

The Indian-born Swede also played his back-nine first but unlike Atwal, failed to hit any birdie and instead bogeyed the 15th hole before dropping two more shots at the 18th.

His front-nine was slightly better with a birdie on the second hole but Chopra undid the good work with a bogey on the next. After a level-par fourth, he fired an eagle on the fifth but again dropped two shots at the sixth to complete a poor start.

At the top American Vaughn Taylor (63) holds a one-shot lead over compatriot Jim Furyk, who had a blemish-free round of seven-under 64.

Defending champion Australian Peter Leonard finished way down at the tied 54th spot with a level-par round.

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