After Years of Near Misses, Toms Pulls Out a Victory

David Toms threw his arms up and smiled when he finally regained the lead at the Colonial. This time, he did not let it get away.

A day after blowing a seven-stroke advantage to go into the final round at Forth Worth trailing Charlie Wi by one, Toms made an eagle with a wedge shot from 83 yards at the par-5 11th hole Sunday to take the lead for good. Toms went on to his first PGA Tour victory since January 2006.

Toms, 44, closed with a three-under 67 at Hogan’s Alley to finish at 15 under, one better than Wi. Toms’s 13th title came a week after a playoff loss to K. J. Choi at the Players Championship, his sixth runner-up finish since his previous victory.

“That just took a lot of guts; that’s really all,” Toms said. “That’s what I got by on today.”
Wi, of South Korea, shot a 69 for his fourth runner-up finish without a victory.

After that playoff loss at T.P.C. Sawgrass in Florida, Toms began at the Colonial with a 62, his best score in 429 rounds since a career-best 61 during his last victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Toms followed with another bogey-free 62 to match the PGA Tour scoring record for the first 36 holes of a tournament (124), and he opened the third round with a birdie.

At 17 under through 37 holes, Toms scored three bogeys in the next five holes. Wi took the lead with a 32-foot birdie at the par-3 16th. Wi extended his lead to three strokes after consecutive birdies to open Sunday’s round. Toms finally caught up at 13 under after Wi missed the green with his approach at the par-4 10th and two-putted for bogey.

Then came the clincher on the Colonial’s longest hole, the 635-yard 11th. After laying up to a perfect spot short of the green, and with Wi’s ball sitting in a front-side bunker, Toms bounced his wedge shot once. It landed just behind the pin and then rolled back into the cup.

DONALD DENIED NO. 1 Ian Poulter kept his fellow Englishman Luke Donald out of the top spot in the world golf rankings by beating him, 2 and 1, in the final of the World Match Play Championship in Casares, Spain.

Donald could have supplanted his compatriot Lee Westwood in the top spot.