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CHATTANOOGA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY BLACK CREEKOctober 19, 2008Arjun AtwalCHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE NATIONWIDE TOUR MEDIA OFFICIAL: Playoff victory, Chattanooga classic, first victory until the United States. But you've won elsewhere around the world, that's got to feel good for you. ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, it does. I've been working for this all my career. Trying to win in America, and it feels really good. And also the fact that I'm getting my card back on the PGA TOUR will be it will be a sweet bonus, I'm looking forward to that. Q. Today you never lost the lead, but Webb Simpson certainly got close a few times. ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah. Q. Tell us about your experience today, and what sort of player Webb is and how you felt during the day? ARJUN ATWAL: Oh, he's a great player. I had spoken with Webb a couple of times. I knew he was Monday qualifying, and he made a lot of Monday qualifiers on the tour. And then he put himself in position to win here, and he gave it a great shot. Either one of us could have won in that playoff, and it just happened so that he missed that putt. But he's a great player, he's going to win a lot of tournaments, and it was for me as far as I'm concerned, it was a big grind today. You know, just not with my golf swing as much as with my emotions and my mind to try to keep it in check. And, you know, somehow I got it done, which is good. Q. Well, as I said, it was awfully close. In the last three holes seemed like it was a bit of a roller coaster. Talk us through the last three holes and the playoff hole. ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, standing on 16th tee, I was two ahead. Hit my tee. I never felt comfortable off that tee all week. I kind of shoved my drive right into the lip of a bunker. I had to chip it out. Hit an awful third shot into the greenside bunker. Then didn't get it up-and-down. So that was a quick double. And he makes a par, so we're tied. But what I told myself was that still I haven't lost the lead. We're still tied, you know, and I'm still in control of my game. I can't control whatever he does, and, after that, I hit solid shots, you know. That 17th hole was playing really hard. It was about 230 to the hole. I had a nice little cut 3-iron to the middle of the green. Q. And you did that after seeing what Webb did. ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, Webb pulled his in the hazard left over the green, and what a great up-and-down he had. You know, he was under a tree, and he hit it out to like 30 feet and holed the putt. On 18 we both hit it on in two, about similar distances, and two putted. So it was a good fight. Q. That was an awfully good putt you hit, it looked like it had a chance to go in? ARJUN ATWAL: At first in regulation, I thought that putt was going in. It was turning all the way, and at the hole it just straightened up, but it was all right. Q. The playoff hole you two putted and Webb missed that five-footer and that was the end of it? ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, Webb hit a good bunker shot and good putt as well. It just slipped out, so. Q. Do you think that having played all around the world, different parts of the world on different tours, you're a member of four tours? ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah. Q. Do you think that experience was a huge factor today, given that Webb is in his first year as a professional? ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, might have been, you know, but the thing is if you're grinding it, you can have as much experience as you want, and the grind is still the same, I think. You know, it's just like trying to win all over again. Webb played just great. You know, it wasn't -- you couldn't tell by looking at him that he didn't have any experience, and I don't think it really mattered with him as well. Q. Well, you move from 34th to 15th on the money list. And it looks like you've, with 248,000, it looks like you've secured your spot on the PGA TOUR. You must be looking forward to getting back there? ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, absolutely. It's a great feeling. You know. I wanted that. I've got like you said, all those other cards and all those other tours, and we've moved to Orlando in the last -- we've been there five years. And I just played on the PGA TOUR four years, and I want to get back there and see if I can do a slightly better job of playing there. Q. So you're going to play the next two weeks, Miccosukee next week and the Tour Championship? ARJUN ATWAL: I know I'm playing Miami next week. I will play Miami next week. But it depends on the Tour Championship. I might go play. There is a tournament in China for the champions of the European Tour and the Asian Tour, and I'm in it. And it's $5 million, so I might go. I am going to Singapore anyway to play the $5 million event there and the Hong Kong Open. So I might make it three in a row over there. Q. Maybe without the win here, it would have been a more difficult decision? ARJUN ATWAL: Oh, there was no choice, I wasn't going to go. I was going to play it the rest of the year out here and then go to Singapore, and now I have a choice, I guess. Q. Congratulations. End of FastScripts |
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