05 July 2019: It is not often that excellence transcends time. Father time is unforgiving, marching relentlessly forward with a steady equality irrespective of the reputation of its subjects. Exceptions, if any, are rare expressions of human resilience.
Arjun Atwal has been producing some impeccable golf this week as he seeks to rediscover some of his very best golf. Playing this week after topping the charts during a Monday qualifier, Arjun produced an eagle on the last hole on Thursday to produce a six-under 65, good for a tie in fourth with Sam Saunders, Sungjae Im, Patton Kizzire, and Brian Harman.
Scott Piercy shot a memorable 62 to occupy the top spot while Adam Hadwin and Hideki Matsuyama are tied for 2nd at 7 under.
An even 71 did not serve too well for Anirban Lahiri on a low scoring day. Starting off the 10th tee, he was in great shape at three-under halfway through the round.
A pair of double bogeys at the second and ninth proved to be his undoing on an otherwise decent day of ball striking. As it is, he is in T92 with a 71 consisting of five birdies, a bogey and two doubles.
The first birdie of the round came at the second hole for Arjun Atwal. He played a terrific 171 yard approach to set up birdie on the 464 yard par-4 hole.
But he returned the stroke at the short par-4 seventh measuring just 381 yards. Arjun overshot the green and into the rear greenside bunker. He needed two-putts after getting on the green with his wedge.
Arjun caught fire soon as he made the turn. Atwal reached about 6 feet from the cup on the par-4 10th, returning into the red numbers.
The irons were doing their job for Arjun on Thursday and another nice approach, all of 179 yards, at the par-4 11th hole set up an easy birdie.
The 12th hole at the TPC Twin Cities measures an imposing 593 yards, playing as a par-5. Arjun reached the green in three and made no bones about a 13 footer for his fourth birdie on the day.
On the par-4 14th, Atwal’s 126 yard approach to 6 feet set himself up for the birdie on the hole. This moved Atwal to 4 under for the round.
He wasn’t done though. Chipping in from 130 yards with his third shot, Arjun produced a magical eagle to end the day on a high note.
