Thursday, August 15, 2002
PGA champ still hears 'Who?'
The Associated Press
CHASKA, Minn. — Before he won the PGA Championship last year, any mention of David Toms' name usually generated the same reaction. Who's he? Funny, but Toms might be greeted the same way today as he begins defense of his PGA title, despite winning last August with two of golf's most-remembered shots in years.
Seems his playing partners for the first two rounds at Hazeltine National Golf Club will be Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.
“I don't even know if my wife knows who I'm playing with,” Toms said following his final tuneup round Wednesday. “She's supposed to come and watch, but it might be better served watching it on TV.”
Success has partly lifted the cloak of anonymity Toms long played under before his breakthrough victory in suburban Atlanta a year ago. He is occasionally approached off the course for autographs or a pat on the back, something that rarely occurred until the PGA.
But, unlike a Woods or a Sergio Garcia, the 35-year-old Toms can take his wife to a movie or dinner without being hounded incessantly by autograph-seekers or celebrity-hunters.
“I still have a life,” said Toms, a former Louisiana State star who lives in Shreveport. “I can come and go as I please, certain things that he (Woods) can't do. I really don't see how he can get in a car and go see a movie. I don't see that happening without it being just a huge spectacle.”
Or, just as their first two rounds at Hazeltine are certain to be, with thousands following the group to get a glimpse of Tiger, Ernie and ... oh, who's that other guy?
But even if they might not necessarily remember Toms' face, they remember his shots.
Toms took the PGA lead a year ago by pulling out his 5-wood for a hole-in-one at No. 15 Saturday at the Atlanta Athletic Club, then kept the lead by putting the same club back in his bag Sunday.
With a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson on No. 18 — a difficult 490-yarder that was the longest par-4 in PGA Championship history — Toms decided not to play a potentially risky 5-wood to the green on his second shot.
Instead, he chose to lay up, then chipped to within 12 feet and made the par putt to win his first major — preventing Mickelson from winning his first.
Toms likes watching basketball, so it's appropriate he won with a couple of shots imported from the sport: a slam dunk and a layup.
“It's been well received, whether people agree with me ... or they were second-guessing me at the time,” Toms said. “I think that's why I've been recognized more for winning, because of the way it all happened. I think it really hit home with a lot of people and they will remember that for a long time.”
Unlike some first-time major winners who can't deal with the changes that success brings to their professional and private lives, Toms has adjusted well.
He hasn't won a tour event this year, but has been in the top three twice and the top five six times in 20 events. He's fifth on the money list at $2,238,631 and sixth in the world rankings.
“You work hard, you prepare the best you can for every tournament, but to actually win a major championship and to come from where I started my career, it's been great,” Toms said.
Even if it might seem on Thursday that he's right back where he started.
“With that pairing, I'm sure that all eyes will be on those two guys,” Toms said. “Maybe I can sneak up on them in the end.”
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PGA champ still hears 'Who?'
