What they said: David Toms

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LAURY LIVSEY: We would like to welcome David Toms the 2011 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial champion. You are now fourth in the FedExCup standings. You picked up your 13th PGA TOUR victory, and you overcame a lot from last week after some disappointment and feeling a little bit better a week later. Talk about your day.

DAVID TOMS: I'm not dreaming, am I? This is actually happening, right? Oh, man.

Wow, I didn't know if this day would ever come again to be quite honest. It was a great round of golf today. It took one.

If you look at Charlie and I, I don't know what was third place, but I know it was pretty far back. So it shows you what the golf course was playing like.

He continued to make putts, like he did yesterday. Any time he got on the green I was like ready for it to go in. So he kept pressure. He kept playing good.

Obviously, the hole out on 11 was the turning point there, and he made bogey on the next hole right after that. That kind of got my separation there between myself and Charlie.

It was nerve racking. I could tell you right now. I was shaking on the greens.

I continued to make par saves when I needed to. I didn't have the speed on my first putts for some reason. I would leave one short. I would run one by. I just constantly making those four or five, 6 foot putts for par, which was great. That was really the key to it. I hit a lot of quality shots. Even the shot I hit at 17, I mean I told my caddy I'm going to line it up right there with that left bunker and let the wind take it right to it and it never moved. Obviously I was in bad spot. He was in an easy spot in the right bunker. You can't miss it left there, and I did.

But I went back and that tee shot at 18 is a hard tee shot for me. It's a right to left tee shot. I'm lucky that the wind is right to left. It was probably the most solid tee shot I hit all week. I just poured it right down the middle. I had a perfect wedge and left it under the hole, an easy 2 putt. I say easy, when you are shaking, it's not very easy. Luckily I got that first putt in there really close. Man, it feels great. Certainly a lot of people have helped me along the way. Too many to mention. But it feels good to be here. It certainly does.

LAURY LIVSEY: Questions?

Q. David, we talked Friday about how playing better makes you feel better. I guess you feel pretty good now.

Do you think, you will change your schedule at all for the rest of the year with having done what you've done today?

And question No. 2 is, you actually went over and looked at his golf ball at 17. At that point were you just kind of playing Match Play? What made you go there and look at it.

DAVID TOMS: Well, the first part of your question, I've got two weeks off, and that was planned, two weeks up at my lake house in Arkansas.

It's been a productive 4 week stretch but it's taken a lot out of me. I will be glad to get home and to have some R and R.

As far as moving forward, you know, maybe plan now to play in the British Open if I get in there. That would be the only difference as far as my schedule goes.

As far as 17, we were just trying to determine who was, whose play it was. So I knew he was in a better spot than me. I kind of knew that. We were just trying to determine whose shot it was.

Q. It was certainly not the start you wanted, falling down two shots on the first two holes, what was your mindset and what were you thinking after the first two holes?

DAVID TOMS: You know, I hit a great shot at 1, and what I thought was a perfect second shot, and the wind didn't take it and it landed in the edge of the bunker there.

If the wind takes it, it's close, and I got a chance for eagle right off the bat.

But he makes birdie birdie the first two holes, and I had a great up and down at 2 for par. He was off and running.

Then I kept hitting quality shots, gave myself a lot of looks.

When he made that long putt at 5, it's kind of like, maybe it's his day, he made one all the way across the green there.

But I came back and birdied 7. And then the hole out, obviously at 11.

Then I said, well, maybe it's my day. I told him after we finished he played great. If it wouldn't have been for the way I played the first two days, he won the golf tournament.

Q. After last week what was it like to see your son come out on the green for you? What kind of teachable moment do you think after what happened to come back the following week?

DAVID TOMS: Well, I hope he learns from it. It's a heck of a lot of fun to play the PGA. Why not? Why not work hard if you have natural ability, and you have the resources that he is going to have. He is going to have golf instructors around him. He is going to be around golf. He is a talented kid already athletically. Maybe he will see, hey, this is fun.

I know that some of his friends are out there with him. They've been out a couple of times this year. We were riding home from New Orleans, we were driving home five hours of kids. I said, did you have fun? I said, does it make you want to work hard? He said, it makes me want to hit until my hands bleed.

So that's what those kids are out there looking at. Those kids are looking up to us as roll models as what they want to do in the future. I'm glad that, at least I can, and a lot of other guys can provide that for them.

Q. Did you and your caddy Scott have a laugh at all about the irony at 11, you lay up and hole out given last week and your past history?

DAVID TOMS: Well, you know, those things work out. I have no idea. What it's all about is playing to your strengths, playing to your game. That's the way I have to play golf will now. That's the way I've always had to play golf. I can't overpower a golf course.

So, certainly, I'm aggressive when I have the opportunity to be aggressive, and I think that's why I've won a lot of tournaments. But I have to play to my strengths.

I couldn't have asked for a better yardage on that hole. It was perfect. All I had to do was hit the shot. You have bunker in front, you have rough behind, and none of that even mattered because I had a perfect yardage. I just had to hit the shot. And obviously when it goes in, it's a bonus. That's the way we always try to play. Any time I get out of that, I say something to him about that, that's not our game. Just don't let me do that.

If I go for the green like Charlie did. Luckily he made a nice 4. He had to hit a long bunker shot. You could hit it in the creek to the right, you can hit it in bunkers. All I did was hit a 4 iron down the middle, hit a wedge, and I made it. So that ought to prove that I need to play that way.

Q. David, what does it mean to you and what do you think it means to golf fans all over the country that watched you last week it looked like you were going to cry after making that putt? You come back this week and you are champion. What does that mean to you?

And what do you think that means to others to come back like that?

DAVID TOMS: You know, I have had a lot of people call, text, email, saying was I okay? Obviously I wasn't okay with the way I finished last week. Hey, you are playing great, keep it up. They are just being nice. And they probably believe that. But it helps.

And certainly the way I played this week, it helps me, you know, just to know that, No. 1, I can still win. No. 2, that I have the game to play no matter what the tournament. No matter what the conditions. I've always had a problem with self doubt and maybe because the way I have to play golf. Maybe the way you have to plot your way around. You don't always feel like I'm at an advantage every week on the courses that we play. After a while it kind of beats you up.

And to come back, after what happened last week, is probably the most satisfying victory I've ever had out of all of the ones, even the Major championship, even winning in my home state, to win after this time frame and to come back after what happened last week, certainly means more to me than any other victory.

Q. I think you just touched on what my question was, but I just wondered, do you really think it might not happen again?

DAVID TOMS: I mean I finished second a lot in the last few years. You know, I just go back to last summer, Greensboro, I made a big putt on the last hole. It's a really, really difficult hole.

Arjun Atwal, he makes a great par on the last hole, hits it in the rough off the tee, he hits it in the grandstands on his second shot, got a drop, had a great up and down, and when those things happen, you are like, is it ever going to happen?

Not just then, but other times. I played great in Hartford a couple of years ago and Kenny Perry, that hot year that he had. You are like, hey, is it ever going to happen?

You got to keep knocking on the door. Like I said this week, those first two rounds, just kind of got me far enough ahead where it was went meant to be. Then I shot 124 and ended up winning by a shot in the end. So it took every ounce of determination, guts, that I had to get this done.

Q. They say there is no us and we. How much did Charlie push you as opposed to you just pushing yourself?

DAVID TOMS: The way he played, I expected him I knew after the way he played yesterday on a tough day, I expected him to come out and play well today. And I didn't think he was going to come back. Then he went and birdied the first two holes. I think that did me some good because it made me say, hey, instead of maybe watching a guy come back like I did yesterday, when you are watching a guy playing good, and I just had to keep playing.

The problem is you go out there, and you have these pins on the edge of the green and the wind is blowing 25 miles an hour, and you feel like you have to shoot for the pin to start putting some pressure on the guy. But if you are two back, and then all of a sudden if you miss the green, you are 3 back. You still have to play. That was the hardest thing to get over to just continue to play the golf course.

Q. David, last night you were the last guy I could see on the putting green or the practice area, was that more about working on your stroke or were you trying to he exercise the demons from yesterday and hit the reset button?

DAVID TOMS: I think it was all about getting passed what happened yesterday. I was out there hitting putts and the greens speed up and you are not making any. I should have got a foot away, and I probably would have been making everything.

It was more about just letting everything settle down. Let all of the people get out of here. And to get back to the mental state that I had the first two days, and just kind of look at the surroundings and know that, hey, one of these days I'm going to do it here. That's what I was trying to do, just take it all in.

I met some nice people around the putting green wanting autographs. They were an inspiration, still pulling for me, still here at 7:30, 8 o'clock in the evening and wanting to see me win today, so it had be a lot.

Q. The distance on 11 was 83 yards?

DAVID TOMS: I had 85 yards. A nice solid L wedge. It was a little bit downwind, a little bit right to left. It's one of the most perfect shots I've ever hit to be honest. I hit it absolutely crisp. It hit 4 inches short of the hole, bounced passed it and came back in. I couldn't have drawn it up any better.

Q. Golf at its most peaceful is supposed to be an even keel game. Your emotions over the last 8 days, losing a playoff, two 62's, 7 shot lead, suddenly down 3, 19 holes later winning by one, it was a bit of a roller coaster?

DAVID TOMS: I'm going to have to go to my barber tomorrow and get something to cover this gray up. It has been a roller coaster. Like I said last night, when I said I feel like I've been leading for two weeks, that's hard. When Tiger was winning everything I always said that was the most impressive thing to me was dealing with it every day. It is tough. It's a good thing.

Certainly I'd much rather be in here than down the road missing a cut. It's been a roller coaster.

I was so busy. I left Sunday night, I flew home. I took my kids to school Monday morning. I flew to Dallas. I had an outing in Dallas. A project shelter press and trail. I had a dinner meeting that night. I didn't get up until 11 o'clock. I got in the car, drove over here, started practicing by 10:30 in the morning. I played the Pro Am Wednesday and all of a sudden I shot 62, 62.

And I really hadn't had time just to relax and take it all in until now. Who knows? Tonight I probably will be pretty restless just thinking about the magnitude of what just happened for me.

But, you know, I can't wait to see my family. It's fun. It's my anniversary tomorrow, too, so it doesn't slow down. Luckily I have got a gift.

Q. A plaid jacket?

DAVID TOMS: Maybe I'll try to give her this ring that's in my pocket.

Q. Not just a check out there?

DAVID TOMS: She's got most of that already.

Q. Charlie sat here before saying he would have bet the house you were not going for the flag on 15. Does the excitement of these last few weeks make you more excited about the possibility being the Ryder Cup captain? Is that in your mind yet at all?

DAVID TOMS: 15, I had 148 into a right to left wind. I was on a little bit of an uphill lie. We liked an 8 iron. But I kept saying to my caddy, if I hit this, it's going to get up in the air and it's going to go pretty good to the left. And I was going to have to hit it hard.

When you hit a shot hard on an uphill lie sometimes you pull it and there is water over there on the left.

I told him, I said, listen, I'm going to take a 7 iron, I'm going to keep it out of the wind, I'm going to hold it into the wind, I'm going to hit it right at it.

If the wind takes it to the left, we are in good shape. I was just trying to find a way to get it pin high. It came off perfect. Probably didn't look like the smartest shot, but, hey, if I make that putt I got a 4 shot lead.

I just hit the same shot a few times during the round and it pulled it off every time. I hit it right in my line, hit it solid. It's an easy shot for me. A hold cut is kind of like my bread and butter. So it wasn't a problem to do that. It was probably an easier shot than to hit a full 8. That's the story with 15.

The Ryder Cup, it would be a huge honor, obviously. I would love to not only be a captain, I would love to play on another one. It's the greatest event in golf. It would be a high honor for me to be a captain. Certainly if they think I'm worthy, I would take it on and just relish the moment. I don't know.

I've thought about it, would I want to be a captain in the states or a captain overseas? They say it's a lot easier when you are overseas to be a captain, you don't have to do as much stuff. It's obviously hostile territory, too, so I don't know, we'll see. I just hope to get that opportunity.

Q. You touched on this earlier, given all you have gone through the past few weeks, given the fact you knocked on the door here a few times, given the fact you holed out from 11, he can't get out of the bunker at 12, maybe you were destiny's pick this week? Do you look at it in that regard?

DAVID TOMS: I think everything is meant to be. Everything happens for a reason. I don't know. It's hard to describe the feeling that you have when you show up to an event and you feel like, not that you have the upper hand, but it's a great event for you as a professional.

Lord knows there are a lot of tournaments that I show up to that I don't have the upper hand. Okay? So to have it actually happen here when I knew it along the way that it should, especially when I was playing great golf and going through that stretch in the early 2000's where I was playing great. Every time I opened up the paper over here, and they had people that they thought were going to win here, I was mentioned.

But I'm not getting it done. To finally get it done means the world to me.

There is a reason why in the Titleist commercial I said that Colonial was my favorite course, my favorite event. It's true. You just don't say that. Especially when you are a month past this, and you are up in Hartford playing golf and somebody says, what's your favorite course. People ask me all the time, what's your favorite golf course? I'm like, No. 1, I don't do golf trips, so I haven't, played all of the courses around. As far as the ones we play, this is my favorite. I continually said that. You can look at the record. And to finally have it happen, it's great. It was meant to be.

Q. I'm sure you must have noticed the yellow and purple LSU sign welcome David Toms, right at the house out there. Is that somebody you know? Is there a story there?

DAVID TOMS: I don't know that person. There is a lot of crazy Tiger fans. It was interesting. Sometimes you put a lot of pressure on yourself to play in front of friends and family. You cannot imagine the ticket requests I had this week. Everyday, can you leave this? Can you leave that? Thankfully the tournament committee was very gracious, and they gave me unlimited tickets. Every day I was walking back to the will call desk. But to have them all here, and to actually pull it off, I mean it just doesn't happen like that. It's hard to write that script. It did. It happens.

Q. Can you also talk about the wall of champions and having your name on there with that pretty august group?

DAVID TOMS: It's awesome. It's a great group of champions. It's right there by the first tee when you tee off. So now everybody that comes after me, once I'm long gone from competitive golf, they're going to see it. It means a lot.

LAURY LIVSEY: Thank you, David, congratulations. We appreciate your time.