Toms breaks out of slump with 67 to take Wachovia lead

[May 02, 2008]  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Fans looking for big names to follow at the Wachovia Championship had plenty of options despite the absence of defending champion Tiger Woods.

While Woods was home recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Masters champion Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini were all the course Thursday. So was Adam Scott, the rising Australian who won last week at the Bryon Nelson Championship.

But it was Scott's playing partner who shined in the first round. David Toms, who has virtually disappeared in the past two years, charged to a 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead at the tournament he won five years ago.

"I played today with last week's winner, who is a heck of a player," Toms said. "I was just trying to keep up with him. I couldn't get within 30 yards of him off the tee, but I scored pretty well."

Toms shook off his recent woes of missed cuts and back pain to record eight birdies, including a near ace on the 13th hole at Quail Hollow Club, to finish one shot ahead of Mickelson and Jason Bohn.

Toms, the 2001 PGA Championship winner, won the inaugural event here in 2003. But Toms hasn't won anywhere since the 2006 Sony Open, falling off the list of must-see players for golf fans.

"The frustrating part is not playing at the same level that I've been accustomed to," Toms said. "I think it wears on you mentally more than anything else."

Getting a break with an early tee time when the greens were still soft from the 3 inches of rain that fell Monday, Toms made eight birdies, including a near ace at the 13th hole.

"I'm just glad to see the inside of one of these media rooms again," Toms joked during his news conference. "It's been a while."

A disc problem forced Toms to withdraw from the Match Play Championship just over two months ago. He followed that with two missed cuts, an 80 in the final round of the Masters, and a tie for 61st at the Verizon Heritage.

It left Toms pondering reducing his schedule.

"I've always said that I've been out here long enough that the only time it's really fun for me is when I have a chance to win and contend in tournaments," said Toms, who has won 12 times. "Grinding to make the cut is too much like work. Playing well, I obviously enjoy that a lot more."

Mickelson lurked one shot back in a stout field that includes 18 of the world's top 25 golfers, even with Woods missing his first scheduled event since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

In his first event since the Masters, he showed off his new, longer putter in his round of 68. Mickelson hit 12 of 14 fairways, then had only 26 putts.

"It was a good day," Mickelson said. "It felt good to see some positive results from the time I spent the last couple weeks.

Bohn, like Toms and Mickelson, had an early tee time. He made six birdies in a satisfying round as he's worked his way back from stress fractures in his ribs suffered last year at the Memorial.

"It's either Jekyll or Hyde with me right now," Bohn said.

Zach Johnson and Ben Curtis led a group of nine golfers two shots back, while Vijay Singh and Rory Sabbatini were among 11 three off the lead after shooting 70s. No one was able to make a charge late in the day on Toms as the course dried out and the greens quickened.

It was another rough day for Masters champion Trevor Immelman. After missing the cut last week at the Byron Nelson Championship, Immelman shot 76 and was buried at the bottom of the leader board.

Toms' confidence soared after a quick start. He holed a nearly 55-foot putt for birdie on the 12th, the third hole of his round. He hit a 5-iron to about 3 inches on No. 13 for another birdie.

Toms recovered from a bogey on No. 7, when his ball landed in a sand-filled divot, with consecutive birdies to close his round.

While he was realistic about his chances to win, Toms had a smile on his face now that he finally had something good to talk about.

"First of all, you show up at an event and you're not fired up to play because you're not getting the results," Toms said. "Then you go home and everybody has questions for you. It just never stops."

But Quail Hollow Club brings reminders of the good days for Toms. There's a picture of him in the winner's blue jacket holding the 2003 trophy near the first tee. He's got a reserved parking spot in a prime spot next to the clubhouse as a past champion.

"I'm not saying I couldn't win the golf tournament, but I think it's more of a process to get the confidence back," Toms said. "From '97 through 2006, it was a steady climb to build the confidence. So I think it's going to be the same way again."

[Associated Press; By MIKE CRANSTON]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.