Arjun Atwal enjoys a good week in Rocket Mortgage Classic

Arjun Atwal betrayed time for most of the week at Detroit Golf Club. And in doing so, he made it clear that, at 47, he still has plenty of golf left in his tank. He admitted that walking hurt, made nearly 30 footers and missed a few from inside five feet. The course yielded eagles to Atwal on the one hand, while extracting penalties at other times. The final round was a snapshot of everything Atwal experienced in the Rocket Mortgage Classic – a bogey at the fourth and a double on the next sat on the same card that contained a birdie on the 8th and an eagle on the 17th for a 73.

Bryson DeChambeau set to win Rocket Mortgage Classic
Bryson DeChambeau took centre stage with a solid start – three birdies in the first four holes – to overhaul the overnight leader Matthew Wolff. At the time of this report, he was at 21-under on the 13th hole with a three stroke advantage over Kevin Kisner. Bryson was 5-under for the day with only six holes left to play. Kisner was 18-under as he approached the final tee box, while Wolff was 17-under, playing with DeChambeau.

Atwal reached the green in two on the par-4 third hole. But he needed two putts from about nine feet to settle for par. At the par-5 fourth hole, Arjun drove 300 yards before settling in the right rough. He chipped to the green with his fourth shot, but once again needed two putts from inside ten feet to concede his first stroke.

The right rough proved to be Atwal’s undoing again at the fifth hole, a par-3. He wedged it on to the green with his second shot, but he was left with 45 feet to the flag. Atwal took three putts from there to soak up a double bogey.

Atwal made some amends with a brilliant birdie on the 8th from 22 feet out on the green. At the par-4 13th hole, Atwal needed three strokes to reach the green. He took another bogey there as he needed two putts from six feet to take care of business.

Playing with grim determination, Arjun drove 342 yards on the 72nd hole, before following through a with a 240 yard approach. He made no mistake from five feet to secure his third eagle of week. He also made eagles on the 12th on Friday and 7th on Saturday.

Atwal ended the week with a battling 73 for a 10-under total of 278. He shot 70-69-66 in the first three rounds. Playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption, the Indian inspired great confidence with both his game and a sharp body.