ORLANDO, Fla. -- Arjun Atwal is headed home with a welcome sense of security on two huge fronts -- personally and professionally.
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The embattled former PGA Tour player won in a playoff on Sunday at the European Tour's Maybank Malaysian Open, again giving him full status on that circuit.
More important, according to a published report, law enforcement officials in Florida have finally elected not to charge him for his involvement in a traffic accident last March 10 that resulted in an Orlando man being killed.
A spokesperson for the State Attorney's office told Newsday on Friday that the office had declined to file charges against Atwal for any role he played in the accident, which resulted in the first fatality linked to a PGA Tour player in years. Witnesses told the Florida Highway Patrol investigator that they believed Atwal and John Park, who was killed when his car veered off the road at high speed, were street racing on a four-lane road near where both men lived in Orlando.
Two days earlier, the state attorney spokesperson said unequivocally the case was still active and pending. Atwal, who was not injured in the crash and whose car never made contact with Park's vehicle, was never charged or arrested.
A phone message left with the spokesperson Sunday was not immediately returned.
Contacted Sunday, Atwal's representatives were seeking formal notification that the case had runs its course and the 34-year-old had effectively been cleared. After completing its report, the FHP recommended that he face vehicular homicide charges, but the state attorney decides on the level of prosecution, if any.
"At this point, we're waiting on confirmation of the completion of the process," Bobby Kreusler, Atwal's agent, said.
Atwal has spoken only briefly about the investigation, which took nearly 11 months for the FHP to complete, but Kreusler said a formal statement is being considered to address the particulars of what happened in the accident.
As for Atwal's future on the golf course, that's more settled, too. After losing his full card on the PGA Tour two years ago, he hqw been playing on the Nationwide in hopes of reclaiming his playing privileges. Even though he is now fully exempt for two years on the European Tour, he will continue to play the U.S. developmental circuit.
"Arjun will return to the States, follow up on the Nationwide Tour and attempt to again secure his status on the PGA Tour," Kreusler said after speaking with Atwal.
Kreusler said that if Atwal plays well enough to finish in the top 25 in earnings, locking up a PGA Tour card for 2009, he would consider playing in various late-season events on the European Tour.
Atwal shot 64 in the final round and defeated Peter Hedblom of Sweden on the second hole of sudden death in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to record his third European Tour victory. Atwal's closest call on the PGA Tour came three years ago at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta, when he and three other players lost in a five-way playoff to Phil Mickelson. He lost his full status after finishing 140th in earnings in 2006.
