David Toms threw his arms up and smiled when he finally regained the lead at the Colonial. This time, he did not let it get away.
A day after blowing a seven-stroke advantage to go into the final round at Forth Worth trailing Charlie Wi by one, Toms made an eagle with a wedge shot from 83 yards at the par-5 11th hole Sunday to take the lead for good. Toms went on to his first PGA Tour victory since January 2006.
Toms, 44, closed with a three-under 67 at Hogan’s Alley to finish at 15 under, one better than Wi. Toms’s 13th title came a week after a playoff loss to K. J. Choi at the Players Championship, his sixth runner-up finish since his previous victory.
“That just took a lot of guts; that’s really all,” Toms said. “That’s what I got by on today.”
Wi, of South Korea, shot a 69 for his fourth runner-up finish without a victory.
After that playoff loss at T.P.C. Sawgrass in Florida, Toms began at the Colonial with a 62, his best score in 429 rounds since a career-best 61 during his last victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Toms followed with another bogey-free 62 to match the PGA Tour scoring record for the first 36 holes of a tournament (124), and he opened the third round with a birdie.
At 17 under through 37 holes, Toms scored three bogeys in the next five holes. Wi took the lead with a 32-foot birdie at the par-3 16th. Wi extended his lead to three strokes after consecutive birdies to open Sunday’s round.
No comments:
Post a Comment