San Antonio (Texas): Arjun Atwal had a good start as he opened with a four-under 66 in the $ 3.5 million Valero Texas Open, where the players are keeping a close watch on hurricane Rita which approached the Texas coast.

Atwal, who had six birdies, also had two bogeys as he tied for 20th place but was not too far behind to contend for yet another top-10 placing at the par-70 Le Cantera golf club.

Atwal opened on the tenth with a bogey but caught up with birdies on 12th and 13th. A bogey on 15th derailed him but only for a while as he landed another birdie on the very next hole to turn in one-under.

On his second nine, the front half of the course, he birdied first, third and seventh and had no bogeys for a good finish of 66. He needed 28 putts for his round.

Atwal with $ 955,666 in earnings needs just under $ 45,000 to cross the coveted million-dollar mark in earnings and that can be achieved if he finishes around 20th.

Daniel Chopra was in danger of missing the cut at one-over 71 in the tied 95th place.

Defending champion Bart Bryant opened with a 65.