![\"arjun-atwal-2\"](\"images\/golf\/arjun-atwal-2.jpg\")
Kuala Lumpur: India\u2019s Arjun Atwal hopes to relaunch his career with a strong showing at this week\u2019s US$2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open, an event he has won twice previously.<\/p>\nKuala Lumpur: India\u2019s Arjun Atwal hopes to relaunch his career with a strong showing at this week\u2019s US$2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open, an event he has won twice previously.<\/p>\n
The former Asian Tour number one will be making his first appearance of the season at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club\u2019s West course in a top-class field which includes Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibanrat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to be back, always fun to be here,\u201d said Atwal, winner of the Malaysian Open in 2003 and 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t know how the game will be as I haven\u2019t played competitively since last year\u2019s Indian Open. It\u2019s a little rusty but at least the body doesn\u2019t feel bad unlike last year where I was struggling.\u201d
<\/p>\n
Atwal, the first Indian to win a PGA Tour title, has slipped down the golfing echelons following a string of injuries. His last tournament was at the Asian Tour\u2019s Hero Indian Open in November where he finished tied 61st.<\/p>\n
But with his health in better shape now following months of rehab, Atwal, who turned 41 last month, hopes to find the second wind in his career which has yielded seven Asian Tour victories and the 2010 Wyndham Championship in the United States.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a bunch of friends who are in their 40s or are over 40s on Tour. They give me a lot of inspiration, players like Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk \u2013 these guys are still going strong and are great examples. Age is nothing. If you\u2019re healthy, it\u2019s not a big deal,\u201d said Atwal.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenge for Atwal this season is to ensure that he gets into tournaments, whether in the US or in Asia due to his exemption status.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to Monday quality in a few in the US and hope to get a few sponsors\u2019 exemptions into tournaments. Hopefully I will get into eight to 10 tournaments this year. We\u2019ll see how that goes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to spend a little more time in Asia but it\u2019s really hard with my kids, it\u2019s tough travelling all the way here from the US. I don\u2019t have a concrete plan yet,\u201d he said.
<\/p>\n
The good news for Atwal is that he\u2019s almost pain-free playing golf these days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past few months, I\u2019ve been on rehab, trying to get stronger with my back and left knee. It\u2019s getting better. I can practice a little bit more, which I couldn\u2019t do at all last year. The game feels alright,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He has hooked up with his old Malaysian caddie this week in hope of producing some of his old magic at the Maybank Malaysian Open.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m using the same Malaysian caddie, Rosli on the bag. He\u2019s still the same … he doesn\u2019t care about anything and just goes out to carry the bag which is a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kuala Lumpur: India\u2019s Arjun Atwal hopes to relaunch his career with a strong showing at this week\u2019s US$2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open, an event he has won twice previously.<\/p>\n
The former Asian Tour number one will be making his first appearance of the season at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club\u2019s West course in a top-class field which includes Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibanrat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to be back, always fun to be here,\u201d said Atwal, winner of the Malaysian Open in 2003 and 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t know how the game will be as I haven\u2019t played competitively since last year\u2019s Indian Open. It\u2019s a little rusty but at least the body doesn\u2019t feel bad unlike last year where I was struggling.\u201d
<\/p>\n
Atwal, the first Indian to win a PGA Tour title, has slipped down the golfing echelons following a string of injuries. His last tournament was at the Asian Tour\u2019s Hero Indian Open in November where he finished tied 61st.<\/p>\n
But with his health in better shape now following months of rehab, Atwal, who turned 41 last month, hopes to find the second wind in his career which has yielded seven Asian Tour victories and the 2010 Wyndham Championship in the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-latest"],"yoast_head":"\n