VOA标准英语2010年-Golfer Arjun Atwal Shines as India's F

The 2010 U.S. Professional Golfers Association Tour season ended last Sunday with American Jim Furyk winning the FedEx Cup championship. The lucrative¹ four-tournament playoff event capped a year peaked with big wins for some and even bigger losses for others. The season also provided some with an opportunity for redemption - to eclipse the grim events of the recent past. Arjun Atwal of India is such a player. The 37-year-old golfer finished his roller coaster ride of a season on a record-setting high note.

 

Difficult road

Arjun Atwal hit a low point in July when he lost his U.S. PGA Tour playing card, which ended his qualifying exemption² status and his eligibility³ to compete in the PGA's lucrative season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs. A month later, Atwal's season was over, and he was at home in Orlando, Florida, contemplating⁴ whether to watch the first FedEx Cup playoff tournament on television or maybe take his wife and two young sons to the nearby Disney World theme park. But having just won his first PGA Tour title, the 16-year veteran was not dwelling⁶ on the fact he had not qualified⁷ for the playoffs.

Atwal's one-stroke victory at the 2010 Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina August 22 had made him the first Indian-born player to win a U.S. PGA event, and the first Monday qualifier in 24 years to claim a Tour title. It also netted him twice what he earned in all of 2009 and gave him a two-year Tour exemption. The Calcutta native told VOA Sports he is delighted about his ground-breaking win and looking forward to next year.

"I definitely want to do this again, win more," said Atwal. "And I'm looking forward to being in contention⁸ again, definitely. Definitely. I'm going to be playing in my first Masters next year, and that will be exciting - all the big tournaments, as well, so it should be fun, should be a lot of fun."

Prelude⁹ to success

At the Wyndham Championship, Atwal opened with a dazzling 9-under-par⁵, 61 on the course at the Sedgefield Country Club to take a first round lead. He led or shared the top of the leaderboard through most of the next two rounds, but entered the final 18 holes three strokes ahead of the field. At one point during the fourth round, he and six other players shared the best score. But Atwal held his ground, shook off his nerves and made par on his final shot of the final hole to earn a spot in the record books.

Atwal said he was glad the Wyndham tournament was televised live in India where his parents were watching, even though it was the middle of the night there.

"All the people that called me - even the media - or my friends and family - they were all up watching until like 2:30 in the morning in India, and I think that's just beautiful, because I know I'm not the most popular name here in America, but in India it would be great to have all the people in India watch this and maybe inspire a few to come out and pursue their dreams in golf, or whatever it is," he said.

Who is he?

No stranger to success and setting golf records, Atwal said he started his professional golfing career in 1994. He was named the Asian Tour's rookie of the year in 1995.? He won a number of tournaments in India before going on to win titles and raise the profile of Indian golfers on the Asian and European Tours and the second tier PGA Nationwide Tour. In 2002, Arjun became the first Indian golfer to win on the European Tour. The following year, he won the 2003 Asian Tour Order of Merit title and became the first Asian player to claim two European Tour wins.

But playing on the U.S. PGA Tour was what he had yearned¹⁰ for since his youth in India. The years of hard work paid off when Atwal earned his first Tour card in 2003, the same year he settled in the United States. He landed in the top-25 at several PGA events in 2004, and in 2005 Atwal had a career-best five top-10 U.S. finishes.

After failure, victory

Arjun's advice to young people in India is simple: work hard and follow your dreams.

"If you have a dream, to do whatever, and it's not just golf - in any sport in India - just to follow it, and not let anyone tell you any different," said Atwal. "And whatever work you put into it is what you're going to get out of it, so that's what I've always believed in. The harder you work, the better it gets. And that would be my message to all the kids over there."

But Atwal has faced lean times in recent years, with trouble following him both on and off the golf course. In 2007, he was involved in a fatal car accident that reports say occurred when another driver was trying to drag race Atwal on a road in Orlando, Florida. After a year-long investigation¹¹, he was cleared of any wrongdoing in the other driver's death, but the apparent stress took a toll¹² on his game.

In 2009, weight training injuries to both shoulders left Atwal sidelined for four months before he returned too soon and played poorly as a result. His game continued to deteriorate¹³ until he missed six consecutive¹⁴ tournament cuts and lost his Tour card when he did not earn enough to remain in the required top 125 on the PGA's money list.

Love of the game

Now, a rejuvenated¹⁵ Atwal shrugged¹⁶ off missing the 2010 FedEx Cup playoffs, and said he expects to finish the year playing most of the fall series events in the United States as well as some tournaments overseas. He might even play in India.

"The Indian Open is on in the first week in December, so I would love to play in that, but we'll see how the rest of the schedule fits in with that, so I haven't decided¹⁷ yet, but I would love to," Atwal said.

In his youth, Atwal said he played soccer and cricket like many children in India, but shifted his focus solely¹⁸ on golf not long after his father introduced him to the sport when he was 14 years old.

"My dad took me to our club there, in Calcutta, India," said Atwal. "And on weekends, he would spend time with me, and he taught me how to play, and that's basically how I got started."

And Atwal fell in love with the game.

"Once I started playing golf, I basically had no time for anything else because I got 'the bug,' you know, like they say, and I just wanted to practice and get better, and see how good I could get," he said.

Atwal said his parents were thrilled about his big win at the 2010 Wyndham Championship, especially his dad.

"He always talked about me playing on the PGA Tour and winning out here," said Arjun Atwal. "And then, I came close so many times, in '05 and in '06. I had, maybe, lost in a playoff, and three putted the last hole on one of the tournaments to not get in the playoff, so I came close, but this was just awesome¹⁹ for them."

Sounds like it was pretty awesome for Arjun Atwal, too.
 

1 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

2 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

3 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

4 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

5 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

6 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

9 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

10 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。

11 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

14 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

15 rejuvenated   

更生的

参考例句：

• He was rejuvenated by new hope. 新的希望又使他充满了活力。
• She looked rejuvenated after plastic surgery. 她做完整形手术后显得年轻了。

16 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

19 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.