Two Indian golfers in Asian top-10

Two Indian golfers finished in the top-ten in the 2001 Davidoff Asian PGA Tour's year-ending Order of Merit.

Arjun Atwal and Vivek Bhandari finished fifth and ninth respectively while Daniel Chopra, the Swede of Indian Origin, was placed tenth.

Current Hero Honda Masters champion Atwal has had a very satisfying 2001 season. In only 13 tournaments on the APGA circuit, the Calcutta-based golfer notched up $ 111,237.62 in prize-money earnings. Additionally, he bagged the honour of becoming only the second Indian to qualify for the prestigious European PGA Tour after a fine showing at last month’s Qualifying school in Spain.

Jeev Milkha Singh, the first Indian to make it to the European Tour, has been a regular since 1998. Incidentally, Jeev also holds an Asian PGA Tour card.

Vivek Bhandari, in three events more than Atwal, notched up $ 86,500.79 in prize-money this season. Bhandari’s feat is a creditable one as he returns to the Tour after a year-long lay-off due to a spondilytis problem.

Among the other Indians in the top-50 were, Arjun Singh (22nd) with $ 58,073.32 in 17 outings, Jyoti Randhawa (24th) with 53,977.85 in 15 starts and Amandeep Johl (42nd), with $ 36,037.14 in 17 events.

The Asian PGA Tour which acquired the coveted ‘World Ranking Status’ in 2000 has grown in reputation over the years with the likes of Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen participating on it.