After a battling 2004 as a PGA Tour rookie, things could hardly have got better this year for Arjun Atwal.

The 32-year-old set himself two targets for his second full season in the United States and one of those, the retention of his tour card, is already virtually achieved.

All that remains is an elusive first PGA Tour victory, and he has twice this year come within a whisker of breaking through.

"My mind has become a little bit stronger," Atwal said in a telephone interview from Charlotte, North Carolina where he is competing in this week's Wachovia Championship.

"I'm more mature and better equipped to handle courses than I was two years ago.

"I play a lot smarter now and don't attack like I used to, especially on the PGA Tour where we have such tough pin positions."

Atwal, who in 2004 became the first Indian player to join the PGA Tour, has produced sparkling form this season.

After competing in just five events but making the cut in all five on the world's most lucrative tour, he lies 47th in the U.S. money list with earnings of $623,248.

NARROW MISSES

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Most impressively, he tied for second after losing out in a five-man playoff for the BellSouth Classic last month and shared fifth place in the Zurich Classic at New Orleans last week, having led the tournament after 36 holes.

"I didn't know how many events I was going to get into this season," said Atwal, whose conditional tour card for the 2005 season guaranteed around 18 starts.

"But I figured whatever I get into, I had better play well and try and get as much confidence going as quickly as possible.

"In my category from last year, it was tough to get into any kind of rhythm this year," he added. "I'm just so glad I have played so well this season.

"Now that I have no pressure of trying to keep my card, I can go and try and win a tournament."

One of very few blemishes for Atwal this year came in March when his favourite driver and putter were stolen from the locker room during the European Tour's Qatar Masters.

"That really hurt me," he said. "Since then, I haven't been able to find the exact thing as a replacement."

TWIN SETBACK

Despite that twin setback, though, the former Asian number one has managed to improve his short game and his ability to set up birdies.

He is fourth in the PGA Tour's putting averages and is bettered by only world number one Tiger Woods [Images] and last year's U.S. Masters champion Phil Mickelson in the birdie average charts.

All of this is a world away from his PGA Tour struggles last year when he lost focus for much of the season with his wife Sona Bhalla expecting their first child.

"It was around this time and then right through the summer, it was pretty tough for me," Atwal said. "In the back of your mind, you are always thinking about those things (births) because that is more important than golf.

"When the baby came along everything got better ... I have been playing well ever since then."

Born into a wealthy family of miners and builders in Calcutta, Atwal turned professional in 1995 and won his maiden Asian Tour title at the 1999 Indian Open.

Since then, he has barely looked back.

He became the first Indian to triumph on the European Tour, winning the 2002 Singapore Masters by five strokes, and became the Asian Tour's first player to top $1 million in career earnings when clinching the 2003 order of merit.

Now only PGA Tour glory awaits.