Atwal fails to regain US PGA Tour card

California, Dec 5 (UNI) Arjun Atwal failed to regain his full playing rights in the US PGA Tour after carding a poor one-over 73 for a tied 98th finish in the Qualifying School Finals here.

Atwal, who aggregated three-over 435 in the event, will still get to compete in approximately 15 events on the US Tour as he holds a conditional card after finishing 140th on the money list last season.

For him to regain full playing rights, which he lost after missing 18 cuts in the 33 events played this season, Atwal needed to finish among the top-30. However, he failed to recover from his nightmarish performance in the previous round and lost his way after making a good start on the last day.

The Orlando-based golfer stumbled to three bogeys and a double-bogey against four birdies as he finished the tournament on a disappointing note.

Playing his back nine first, Atwal was off to a great start as he birdied the 12th and 16th holes but the slide started soon after as he stumbled to a bogey and a double bogey on the last two holes to make the turn at one-over.

In his front nine, the former Asian Tour number, who lost five places to be 260th in the rankings this week, gained two shots on the fourth and eighth but two bogeys in between spoilt his chances of finishing under-par.

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