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Toms on course for title
defence
One hole into a round he
began with low expectations, David Toms had a bogey.
One hole later, a 30-foot
putt from the fringe gave him hope and carried him to a 7-under-par 64 that was
good enough for a one-shot lead for the defending Michelob Championship winner.
``All of a sudden, the hole
started to look bigger and bigger,'' Toms said Thursday after using just 22 putts
at Kingsmill Golf Club. ``You never know when that one shot or putt can get you
turned around.''
The PGA champion arrived
at this event after a monthlong layoff followed by two of his worst rounds of
the season last week in Texas. So unsure was he that he could get it together
that he had contingency plans to get home on Saturday to attend Louisiana State's
football game with No. 2 Florida.
``Thank goodness for the
putter,'' he said. ``I can't remember the last time I did anything like that,
even on some of my really low rounds.''
Toms got to 8 under after
16 holes with a scrambling birdie, but gave a shot back right away on his 17th
hole. He closed with a par and established himself as perhaps the man to beat
again this year.
Shigeki Maruyama, Neal Lancaster,
Jimmy Green, J.J. Henry and Michael Muehr had 65s to share second place after
a day when conditions were near-perfect with temperatures in the low 80s and little
breeze blowing.
Another four players were
two back after 66s.
Ty Tryon, the 17-year-old
player making his professional debut on a sponsor's exemption, bogeyed his first
hole and five others in a 76.
Toms' round was already
going strong when he got to the par-5 seventh hole, his 16th of the day. His drive
was well right and appeared headed out of bounds when it hit something and came
to rest still in play.
``I was lucky it stayed
in bounds,'' he said. ``I hit it terribly.''
The two-time winner this
year took advantage with a punch to the fairway and a sand wedge to about 25 feet
that he ran in.
``Every time I got a decent
birdie chance, I made it,'' he said.
Maruyama surprised himself
with his 65, which came even though he hit his tee shot on No. 18 into the water
for the fourth time in two days.
``I don't like the water,''
the Japanese pro said, adding that tee shots with water on the left like No. 18
get in his head. In Wednesday's pro-am, he hit three into the pond before Scott
Hoch told him to move along.
For many, this tournament
begins a grueling stretch when those outside the top 125 in earnings need to begin
moving up the list to join the ranks of those who will retain their playing privileges
on the tour next year.
Among them are Lancaster,
135th in prize money, and Green, 198th.
``I've played better, but
I scored great,'' Lancaster said. He said trying not to think about needing to
do well may have helped him.
``Most of us, when we're
trying to do well, we usually just mess up a lot. If I can play every day like
it's a practice round and just enjoy it and not worry about everyone else, the
outcome might be good,'' he said.
Green, playing in the afternoon,
said he got going after seeing playing partner Willie Wood get to 5-under before
fading late in the day.
``He starts knocking in
putts and you say, `Hey, I am going to do the same.' It's fun when you start knocking
them in,'' Green said.
Bryce Molder was the only
golfer besides Toms to get to 7-under, but Molder followed the birdie that got
him there on his 16th hole with consecutive bogeys on the eighth and ninth holes
for a 5-under 66.
He was joined by Chris Riley,
Jonathan Kaye and Rich Beem.
Two-time winner David Duval
shot a 73, and Justin Leonard, coming off a victory last week in Texas, opened
with a 39 and shot 72.
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