Arjun Atwal made a slow but steady start, scoring +2 as per Modified Stableford scoring, on day one of the PGA Tour Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada on Thursday. This placed him 13 points behind Scotsman Martin Laird, who led the field with +15, after Laird sank eight birdies and just one bogeys in his 18 holes.
Atwal's first round was comparatively incident-free, with his first bogey coming off the 367-yard par-four 14th as he began from the back nine. His next bogey came off the par-five 2nd, which placed him momentarily at -2, the standard penalty for each bogey being 1 point. But then he would recover well on the front nine, with birdies on the 355-yard par-four 4th and the 429-yard par-four 9th earning him two points for each.
Atwal will tee off for his second round at 1:28 pm local (1:58 am IST) on Friday, and will hope for a strong performance to make the sixth cut in his ninth appearance at this event.