Another 62 for Toms; now he must hold on for 36 holes
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The concession stands were closing. The chairs on the clubhouse veranda were stacked up, the cleanup crew sweeping the floor. The sun, peeking through the clouds, was fading into the west, as were the fans who had enjoyed a long but wet day at Colonial. And David Toms had a 15-feet putt below the hole at the 18th green to give him a share of the course record.
He didn't make it. The putt hung mockingly on the lip of the cup. For a second consecutive day, Toms came up just short of the mark at this venerable course. He would have to be satisfied with another bogey-free 8-under 62 and a seven-shot lead going into the final 36 holes this weekend at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Only one other time has a player opened a PGA TOUR event with a total so low -- Pat Perez shot 61-63 at the 2009 Bob Hope Classic. The gallery following Toms knew it was watching great golf, knew they were watching an artist at the top of his craft, but most probably didn't know it was of historic proportions.
"Phenomenal," said playing partner Mark Wilson. "It was fun to watch."
For Toms, Friday's round could have easily dipped below 60. Besides the birdie miss at 18, he misread a 10-footer at the 13th, misread an 18-footer at 14 and saw a 9-footer at the 16th run out of steam. Roll those three in and he's staring at 59.
But there is no what-could-have-been for Toms. He refused to dwell on the few opportunities he failed to capitalize on Friday, just like he refused to dwell on that missed par putt on the playoff hole at THE PLAYERS Championship last Sunday, the one that cost him a shot at his first victory in five years.
That was the last bogey he's made. He's been perfect ever since.
"Some of the best golf I played in a long time," he said.
Some of the best golf anybody has played for a long time.
That seven-shot lead not only ties a tournament record but is the largest after 36 holes on the PGA TOUR since Tiger Woods led the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational by that margin 11 years ago.
Back then, the shouts were "Go, Tiger!" On Friday, as Toms walked off the 18th green and headed up the steps to the scorer's table, he heard shouts of "Geaux, Tigers!" from fans wearing the purple and gold of his beloved LSU.
Unlike Thursday's 62, which he categorized as "all about scoring" after producing four of his birdies out of the rough en route to sharing the lead with Chez Reavie, Friday's 62 was more of a thing of beauty, more the kind of golf Toms wants to play. He hit 11 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens and kept putting himself in position to pull away from the field.
Not even a 2-hour, 24-minute weather delay could knock him off track. He had just struck his tee shot at the 11th hole when the horn blew. For the next couple of hours, he sat in the family dining room at the clubhouse, hanging out with his dad, talking about their hunting place for duck season, discussing Toms' kids and "what a piece of work my son was."
The stories flew fast and the time went by quickly. Toms returned to the course and kept firing at the pin.
"It was a chance to lose some momentum," Toms said. "But I came out and the conditions were perfect for scoring and my mindset was just to keep making birdies, try to separate myself a little bit."
One thing in his favor? The conditions were exactly what Toms enjoys back in his native Louisiana. Late afternoon golf after a rain shower. Hot. Humid. No wind. Receptive fairways. Receptive greens. Slow greens.
"I've done it hundreds of times at home in Louisiana and that's what it felt like," Toms said. "... It was all about hitting a shot."
But his job is not done. Lots of golf remains and while no one has been able to touch Toms for 36 holes, that doesn't mean he can sit still and twirl his thumbs until the winner gets his plaid jacket and the big Texas-sized trophy late Sunday afternoon.
It will be tempting to play defensive, to sit on such a big lead. But Colonial is obviously yielding low scores, and even if the scoring conditions lessen over the weekend, those players within shouting distance can play loose. There is only one player shouldering pressure now -- Toms.
"It can happen really quick," said Wilson, who is tied for second at 9 under after shooting a 66 on Friday. "There's 36 holes left. I could do in these next two days what he did in the first two days."
Toms knows it. He knows he needs to maintain his aggressiveness. He saw last week at TPC Sawgrass that leads can evaporate quickly. He seemed to have the tournament in control after 15 holes, but ended up having to make a clutch birdie on the 18th just to force a playoff with eventual winner K.J. Choi.
He will play smart but will refuse to back down.
"You certainly start thinking about it," he said. "You think about your position. But I've just got to go out and play well.
"I don't know what the conditions will be like tomorrow. Obviously, it's softer so there will be some guys who have opportunities to shoot low rounds like I had the first two days. You got to figure I got to keep going."
If he keeps going like he did the first two days, Toms will end up as the next Colonial champion. And somewhere in the record books.
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