02 November 2019: At 46, Arjun Atwal has to work up quite a bit of sweat just to keep his aching limbs from complaining too much. The only Indian with a PGA TOUR win, he has spent decades trying to unravel the gift of golf, earned from mindless hours of work on the range. He is reaping some rewards this week in the Bermuda Championship. At 6-under 207, Atwal is lying T35.
Harry Higgs took charge of the lead with birdies on the 16th and 18th helping him cushion his card. It was his second straight 65 and that was enough to give him a two-stroke edge over Brendon Todd. Bo Hoag (64) and Brian Gay (65) were tied in third at 14-under with Scottie Scheffler a further stroke back.
Over the past two years, Atwal has been knocking persistently, as he tries to enjoy another fling at glory, on the finest golf circuit on the planet. The embattled Indian shot his third straight 69 this week, but it was far from straightforward.
Atwal had to battle his way back to sanity after a double bogey at the 13th and a bogey at the 16th, both par-3s dented his card early on in the round. He had accounted for two of those lost strokes on his first nine, but yielded another stroke soon after making the turn into the first hole.
But just as the clouds thickened, his golf turned brighter.
Atwal has long been cherished for his silken touch around the greens. He showed us why making four birdies in five holes from the 2nd to finish with a fluent flourish, climbing five spots to T35.
At the top of the leaderboard, with many of the stars away in China for the WGC-HSBC, there is no dearth of men seeking elusive PGA TOUR glory. And the security that comes with holding the card.
Overnight leader Harry Higgs continued to show a fine vein of form. He was building on his 66-65 start, trying to cushion his card. But Bo Hoag, Brian Gay and Brendon Todd were jostling amongst themselves to have a say in the narrative for Sunday.
Also in contention for some champagne moments on Sunday will be Scottie Scheffler, Ryan Armour and Wes Roach. It could be down to one or two strokes between these men as the tournament reaches a potentially explosive finish on the beautiful Caribbean coast.
There was disappointment though for Anirban Lahiri. The 33-year-old had started the week in fine fettle, ending the day in T7 with a 66. But he experienced spasms in the left oblique driving off the 16th tee during the second round. That made it hard to swing a club, forcing the Indian to withdraw midway through the Bermuda Championship.
However, Lahiri expects to heal in time for Mexico, where the Mayakoba Classic starts on 14 November.
