For the first seven holes Atwal did not have a single par as he went through three birdies, an eagle, a bogey and two double bogey, but after that he had 11 pars.
Earlier, Atwal completed 12 holes of his second round to make the cut after a round of two-under 68.
In the third round, Atwal opened with a bogey on 10th and birdied the 11th. A double bogey on 12th was followed by birdies on 13th and 14th and then came an eagle-2 on par-4 15th. Another double bogey on 16th meant he was once again even after seven holes and then came the series of 11 pars.
Daniel Chopra who had a 78 on first day missed the cut with a second round 71.
England's Brian Davis, looking for his first win on the PGA Tour, shot six-under 64 and Roland Thatcher of the US had a 65 as they shared the lead after 54 holes.
They were both 12-under. Defending champion Fredrik Jacobson who led after two rounds shot an even-par 70 to stay at nine-under.
As many as 17 players were within five shots of the lead going into the final round.
Masters champion Bubba Watson (65) made a good move up from tied 23rd to tied 12th at eight-under, while to U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson (68) was tied 16th at seven-under. The reigning PGA champion Keegan Bradley (70) slipped to tied 39th.