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Toms defends Michelob
title
David Toms has a harder
time with being identified with the best in the world than the numbers have making
the case.
If he keeps this up, soon
it will become clear even to him.
Like David Duval before
him, Toms used the final round of the Michelob Championship to keep his star rising
on the PGA Tour, shooting a steady 3-under-par 68 and holding off Kirk Triplett
by one stroke to win.
``It has been a good year
and winning this week is extra special because of the way I played last week,''
Toms said.
Last week, he missed the
cut in Texas after playing two of his worst rounds of the year.
``To come back the next
week and be able to do this, it's obviously a bonus and it just shows that when
I put my mind to it and really work hard, I can turn it around pretty quick,''
the PGA champion said.
Toms took charge from the
start with birdies on four of his first seven holes to separate himself from the
field. He bogeyed No. 17, but calmly rolled in a 3-foot putt at No. 18 to clinch
it.
The victory was his third
this year, and seventh of his career. It also was his fifth in seven tries when
he led entering the final round.
Such numbers scream superstar,
but Toms stopped short of that.
``I might be one of the
five best players in the world, but (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Duval), and
I think you can throw Ernie Els in there and maybe Vijay (Singh). I don't know,
they are physically more talented,'' he said, seeming uncomfortable talking of
himself that way.
``I just think there are
a handful of people that are just better than everyone else. That's just life.
You can look at that in any sport.''
The victory tied Toms with
Phil Mickelson and Duval for second place with six victories since 1999. Only
Tiger Woods, with 22, has won more.
Duval, a non-winner until
he beat Duffy Waldorf in a playoff here in 1997, repeated the next year. By then,
it was his seventh victory and he was on his way to a brief stay as the world's
top-ranked player.
Toms may not be close to
challenging Woods for No. 1, but he surely seems well on his way to taking his
place among golf's elite players.
``How close?'' Triplett
scoffed when asked about Toms' proximity to the elite. ``I have considered him
an elite player for a long time.''
Starting with a two-shot
lead, Toms immediately birdied the first hole, and then the third to put some
distance between himself and the field. After a bogey at No. 4 left him just one
ahead of Neal Lancaster, Toms quickly birdied two of the next three holes and
was on his way.
He reached 15-under at No.
7 with his fourth birdie and never was challenged until Triplett made three late
birdies to get to 14 under.
Triplett opted not to return
to the 18th green after signing his card, preferring to get the play-by-play on
Toms' play in a call to his wife.
``It's probably easier to
just stay in that trailer where nobody is looking at you,'' Triplett said, laughing
at himself. ``Then when he makes par you can slump down and say, `God,' and the
camera is not on you.''
AP Photo
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Triplett didn't miss much. Toms' drive split the fairway on the final hole, his
approach hit the green and he two-putted from 35 feet.
Triplett, who came to Kingsmill
after a five-week layoff and started the tournament with a double-bogey, was thrilled
to have made a run.
``I was very rested and
I think that helped me in a lot of ways, just staying patient,'' he said. ``I
wasn't sure how I was going to play.''
Toms won $630,000 to move
from fifth to third on the money list with more than $3.3 million in 25 events.
Only Woods and Mickelson have more.
Triplett, sixth here in
1997, rebounded from a bogey at No. 11 with birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 17 to get
second by three shots. Esteban Toledo was bogey-free until he missed a 5-foot
putt on the final hole, dropping him into a tie for third with impressive rookie
Charles Howell III.
Howell was bogey-free in
a closing 67, his third top-5 finish of the year, and moved closer to joining
the top 30 in prize money on tour.
``That will be huge,'' the
22-year-old Howell said of possibly getting into the top 30. ``My No. 1 goal starting
this year, apart from getting my status for next year, was to play the Tour championship.''
It is unclear, however,
if Howell would earn a spot in the Masters by finishing in the top 40. Augusta
National takes the top 40 from the final money list, but Howell will not appear
on the list because he will not be a PGA Tour member until next year.
The only way he can become
a member before the end of the year is to win.
Len Mattiace was fifth after
a birdie-birdie finish gave him a 67, and J.J. Henry was sixth after making two
bogeys in his last three holes.
The tournament was an important
one for players trying to make it into the top 30 in prize money, thereby earning
a spot in the lucrative Tour Championship, and for those hoping to finish in the
top 125 on the list.
Those players retain their
playing priviledges for next year.
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