Toms' hard charge goes beyond FedEx final round
The FedEx St. Jude Classic was shaping up to be a nail-biter Sunday afternoon, with six players -- including three major champions and a rookie looking for his first win -- within two strokes of the lead on the back nine.
David Toms made sure it never got interesting.
Toms made three birdies and an eagle in a seven-hole stretch from 10-16 to pull away from a crowded leaderboard and win his second tournament of the year going away. He started the run tied for the lead with Lee Janzen, but after birdieing the toughest hole on the course (the par-3 14th) with a 50-foot putt and making an eagle two holes later, he found himself with a four-stroke lead.
Game over.
Toms had some help along the way. Janzen stumbled to the finish, bogeying three of his last five holes. Rookie Richard S. Johnson didn't have a run in him, playing the last nine holes at even-par. And Nick Price -- who teed off 80 minutes before the leaders -- birdied 10 of his first 17 holes, but a bogey at the last put a damper on his 62.
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Prior to his win at the Wachovia two months ago, Toms was starting to get a rep as a guy who was always in contention but couldn't make a run on Sunday. After all, he was fifth on the money list last year despite not winning an event, posting 12 top-10s in 27 tournaments.
Now, you won't find anyone who doesn't have him on the short list of contenders in every event he plays. Besides his two victories, Toms has a pair of top-10s in the majors and a gutsy runner-up finish in the Match Play. Not a bad four months.
A look at how Toms won the St. Jude Classic:
Three observations
1. Bruce Lietzke sputtered at the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday, but never broke down.
After giving himself a four-stroke lead with a 7-under 64 Saturday, Lietzke didn't need to do anything special on Sunday, especially since only one player -- Tom Watson -- had a realistic chance of catching him.
Lietzke hit just five of 15 fairways and eight of 18 greens in regulation en route to a final-round 73 (for the week, he was 58th out of 60 in driving accuracy of players who made the cut). It wasn't exactly a brilliant finish, but it was enough to keep Watson at bay on an Inverness track that yielded just three red numbers for the week.
The 51-year-old Lietzke might have been in trouble were it not for a flash of brilliance on the par-5 eighth hole. After a 360-yard drive and a 5-iron to seven feet, Lietzke drained the eagle putt to take a six-stroke edge that Watson would whittle to two before all was said and done.
''Bruce's nickname was perfect today: Leaky,'' Watson said. ''He was leaking oil and smoke, blowing that blue smoke out of the pipes, but that engine just kept running. I think he finished on just two pistons.''
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| Wie |
The lanky phenom made her third straight cut in three LPGA Tour events in 2003, finishing 52nd with a 2-over 215 total. However, she again struggled on the greens, missing more than a handful of makable birdie putts. That may spell trouble for her next week, where she'll face the toughest greens of her young career at the U.S. Women's Open.
Wie faltered off the tee as well, booming several drives of more than 300 yards but hitting just two fairways in the first round and five on Sunday. She also argued with her caddie -- and father -- B.J. Wie on club selection.
Along with the Women's Open, Wie's summer vacation also includes two more USGA events, another LPGA tournament, a Canadian men's tour event and a stop on the Nationwide Tour in September.
Even with the busy schedule, it's refreshing to see Wie's newfound fame hasn't altered her perspective. She's still found time to finish the latest Harry Potter book.
3. Philip Golding's 20-year wait is over.
The 40-year-old European Tour journeyman picked up the first win of his long career Sunday at the French Open, meaning he won't be adding to his record 16 trips to Qualifying school anytime soon. He gets a two-year exemption with the victory.
"Apart from the birth of my child, it's the greatest moment of my life,'' the Englishman said. ''I've really worked hard over the years and I'm proud of myself."
To gauge just how big of a victory this is for Golding, check out these numbers:
Up next ...
PGA Tour: Western Open
Tiger Woods heads the star-studded field at the 100th playing of the Western Open outside Chicago. Davis Love III, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson join Woods as many of the world's best play in their final stateside tune-up before heading to England to prepare for the British Open.
LPGA Tour: U.S. Women's Open
The women are in the spotlight this week as American Juli Inkster prepares to defend her national title against a field that includes Annika Sorenstam -- looking for her first win in this event in seven years -- and 13-year-old Michelle Wie.
Champions Tour: Off
European tour: Smurfit European Open
Most of Europe's best will be at the K Club in Ireland this week. Irishman Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer are among those in the field.
Nationwide Tour: Samsung Canadian PGA Championship
Vaughn Taylor, who began the season as a Monday qualifier but is now second on the money list, will head to Canada after beating Joe Ogilvie in a Knoxville playoff on Sunday. The victory kept Ogilvie from his second win of the year, one short of what's needed for a "battlefield promotion" to the PGA Tour.
David Lefort is ESPN.com's golf editor, and can be reached at david.m.lefort@espn3.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
