Toms scorches Colonial to lead by 7 after 36
FORT WORTH, Texas – David Toms may not be able to describe what it is like to be in the zone, but he is in it. Toms posted a second straight 62 to get to 16-under 124 and leads at the Colonial Country Club by seven over Steven Bowditch, Mark Wilson and John Senden. Toms' score established a new tournament 36-hole record, two shots better than Steve Stricker in 2009. Toms’ lead equals the largest 36-hole advantage by a leader in tournament history. In 1956, Chandler Harper also held a seven-shot lead at the halfway point. His lead is also the tour’s largest midway lead since Tiger Woods held the same advantage at the 2000 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
“No, it really wasn’t easy the first nine holes or so,” he said after the round when it was mentioned he’d made it look easy. “We had a lot of wind. It was one of those days where I was playing well. But the scoring was pretty tough early on. I hit a great shot at nine to make birdie there to make the turn at 4 under.”
Toms’ previous-best opening 36 holes is 130 set on five previous occasions—most recently at the 2010 McGladrey Classic. He opened with rounds of 64-66 in Savannah, GA, and went on to tie for third.
He is bogey-free through his first 36 holes at this year’s tournament, and he played the final eight holes of the 2010 tournament without a bogey, giving him a streak of 44 consecutive par-or-better holes at Colonial Country Club. Toms is also working on a streak of eight consecutive under-par rounds at this event. He was 65-69 on the weekend in 2009 and fired rounds of 68-67-68-65 on his way to a tie for 13th in 2010.
Even a weather delay of almost two and half hours couldn’t interfere with Toms’ roll.
“I hadn’t seen my dad in a while,” he said when asked how he spent his time during the stoppage in play. “I sat there in family dining with my dad and his wife and talked about getting our hunting place ready for duck season, and talking about what my kids are doing at home, and what a piece of work my son was, and two hours went by quickly.”
That’s not all that has gone by quickly for Toms of late. After a disappointing finish last Sunday he seems hell-bent on writing a different script.
This is the second consecutive week that Toms has been the leader at the halfway point. Last week at The Players, he opened with 66-68 to hold the lead by himself. He lost a one-hole playoff to K.J. Choi.
In a one-on-one conversation with InsideTheRopes.com last Sunday, Toms spoke about having a feeling he would win soon, maybe next week. No doubt, his confidence was not shaken after the near-miss at TPC Sawgrass. He knew Colonial was a good venue for him and looked forward to getting back to work. Once back, he didn’t waste any time dropping birdies.
Eight birdies on Thursday were followed by eight more on Friday. It would be a gross understatement to say Toms is playing well.
A seven-stroke lead seems stronger here because, as witnessed by no other player being double-digits under par, it is not easy to make lots of birdies. Couple that with Toms’ confidence and it seems like a great recipe for success.
“Well, it’s certainly helping me get past last week,” Toms said. “It’s all about getting myself into position and see how I’ll do this time. I think I’ll do fine, but, you know you never know until you get there. And that’s what I’ve tried to do. Certainly this is a bonus to be where I am right now, but I’m in good position, that’s really all it is and I’ve got to go out and play great.”
One might even say if he plays good he should get his 13th tour win.
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