Atwal tied 70, Chopra tied 52 in Funai Classic after opening round

Florida, Oct 20 (UNI) Struggling to retain his PGA Tour card for the next year, Arjun Atwal got off to a decent start to his Funai Classic campaign with an opening round of two-under 70 for the tied 70th place at the Walt Disney Classic resort here.

Former Asian Tour regular Daniel Chopra returned three-under 69 to be tied for 52nd.

A 10th tee starter, Atwal, in fact, could have been placed better but for the dropped shot on the 18th, his ninth, it could have been a blemish-free round.

The Orlando-based Indian faltered on the par-four final hole and dropped the only shot of the day.

Earlier, the Orlando-based Indian kicked off his campaign on a sedate note, parring the first five holes before picking up a shot on the 15th and followed it with two more par shots before the 18th hole setback.

Atwal amended on his way back and picked up two shots -- with birdies on the first and seventh -- for a decent opening round at the Palm Golf Course.

Meanwhile, Briton Justin Rose came tantalisingly close to equal the record of a single-round 59 only to miss it by the whisker after returning a scintillating 12-under 60.

UNI XC AY HS1104