Atwal, who has struggled this season with a series of missed cuts, was tied 74th here.
The Indian picked up two birdies, one on the second and another on ninth, but two bogeys in between on the seventh and fourth, saw him end the front nine at even par.
On the back nine, he birdied the 13th, but then dropped a nightmarish triple at the par-4 15th before ending the day with a birdie on the par-3 16th for a card of one-over 71 and tied 74th.
Daniel Chopra struggled with a round of eight-over 78 with seven bogey and one double bogey and just one birdie.
David Mathis, started on the tenth and he was six-under through six holes. He birdied the tenth, 12th, 14th and 15th and in between had a hole-in-one on the 11th. He finally finished the day at six-under 64.
Nathan Green, Will Claxton and defending champion Frederik Jacobson shot 65, while US Open champion, Webb Simpson, Masters winner, Bubba Watson and eight others carded 66 each.
