Arjun Atwal might have finished tied-45th in the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this month, but the golfer is not losing sleep over it.

"The positive part is I am back to playing golf after four months of staying indoors. That's the longest break I've had in my two and half decades of professional golf and I was just happy to be back in action," Atwal told The Telegraph from Windermere early on Wednesday (Florida time 9pm Tuesday).

Not a regular on the USPGA Tour, Atwal is expecting a call from 3M Open starting from July 23 in Blaine, Minnesota. "I would be sure by Friday if I'm in or not. It's more or less 98 per cent confirmed that I would be playing. I am definitely playing the Barracuda Championship starting from July 30 and then the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina from August 13," he said.

The very mention of Wyndham Championship fills Atwal with joy. After all, this is the 10th anniversary of his Wyndham Championship triumph.

On August 22, 2010, Atwal became the first (and the only Indian golfer till date) to win on the USPGA Tour. "Time flies. Ten years have gone and I did not even notice. It was a great achievement, one of my best wins," he said.

Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa were the three faces of Indian golf who were creating waves in the mid-90s. Then came SSP Chowrasia, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma who are now carrying on the legacy. Despite India producing quality golfers, the game hasn't really taken off in the country. However, Atwal does not think SSP, Shubhankar or Anirban would have to win a Major to make the game popular in India.

"I do not think the game would be popular only if they win something big. Even Jeev, Jyoti and I were winning tournaments. Did that make the game widely followed in India? No. Unless we get government support nothing can be done. Also tell me how many corporate houses back the game? Barring Mr Pawan Munjal (head of Hero MotoCorp) and may be three companies in south India, where is the support? We Indians have very good hand-eye coordination. That comes natural to us and that's the reason why we play cricket and hockey so well. I find it surprising that golf, where hand-eye coordination is very important, did not become that popular."

Now 47 - he calls Jeev, Jyoti and himself the old men of Indian golf - Atwal spends a lot of time at the gym. In fact, he had a two-week lay-off because of rib injury while doing weights just before the Rocket Mortgage Classic. "I spend more time now on the gym than I used to when I started off. That's the impact Tiger Woods (his good friend) had on the game. The game became more power-driven as everyone wanted to be like Tiger. Before the arrival of Tiger, golfers hardly spent time at the gym. Even I used to avoid weights during my early days. Now I cannot live even for a day without hitting the gym."

The situation in Florida is very bad with over 2.6 lakh Covid-19 cases and more than 4,300 deaths. Atwal, his wife Sona and two sons Kishan (16) and Shiva (12), have stayed safe. "Situation is bad here. People are getting affected by the virus but the positive part is the young people are recovering fast. Let's hope for the best," he said.

Due to the pandemic, Atwal doesn't know when he would be in his hometown Calcutta. "First let the coronavirus thing get sorted. I was in New Delhi (my wife is from there) last year for seven days. We could not come to Calcutta for time constraint. I do not know when I would be again in Calcutta swinging and putting at my Royal Calcutta Golf Club."