Atwal, who had four birdies in his first eight holes of the final round could even afford the luxury of a double bogey and a bogey on 10th and 11th in a card of one-under 71 and cruise through as the top-19 and marched into the six-round final stage in California from November 28 to December 3.
However, another Indian, Anirban Lahiri tripped and missed out as his final round of 75 with four bogeys, one double bogey and just three birdies saw him finish at two-under 286 and in tied 44th place at the same venue.
Daniel Chopra qualified for the final stage in a spectacular manner.
Lying at seven-under after 15 holes and just outside the top-19 who moved ahead, Chopra birdied the last three holes for a card of 66 to move to 10-under and tied 10th place and qualify comfortably.
Robert Karlsson, a 11-time winner on European Tour, topped the qualifier at 18-under.
Atwal, starting the final day in eighth place, birdied the first, fifth, seventh and eighth before double bogeying 10th and bogeying 11th. He steadied himself with pars from 12th to 18th. (MORE)