David Toms made a charge at reliving history.
The good vibrations that pulsed through Atlanta Athletic Club, as they had 10 years ago, would end this time on the 16th hole Sunday. Another PGA Championship here was not to be.
Not that it wasn't fun trying.
“I was probably more relaxed today because I didn't have the pressure on me that I had 10 years ago,” Toms said. “Today was a little more fun, telling stories and having a fun day.”
Toms finished tied for fourth with a 5-under-par 275, his best finish at a major since winning that 2001 PGA Championship on the same course. He entered the final round 2 under par and five shots off the lead. After bogeys at Nos. 2 and 3, Toms surged. Birdies on six of nine holes between Nos. 4 and 13 brought him to 6 under. But reality kicked in when Toms looked at the leaderboard to see then-leader Jason Dufner was under par by double digits. The real end came on a wayward shot at No. 16 that led to a final bogey.
“I got over there on the backside and really had a chance until some of the other guys started to make birdies,” Toms said. “That was a lot of fun to get in somewhat of contention. I held in there. I bogeyed [No.] 2 and 3 right out of the box and to come back from that ... I certainly feel good about it.”
Atlanta is still a special place and not because of his play at AAC.
“I just feel comfortable in Atlanta,” Toms said. “It doesn’t matter what course it is. I’ve always played well here. I love coming here and the people have been supportive of my career along the way.”
Toms’ climb back into contention actually began Saturday when he shot 5 under on the back nine to finish with a 65. Those nine holes included an eagle at No. 12 and a birdie on the par-4 No. 18, the hole where Toms famously laid-up to make par to win in 2001.
“I have a lot of different emotions,” Toms said. “Certainly, I felt a little pressure to perform, just on myself, not from anybody else, just because I wanted to play well.”
His conservative play served Toms well all week. The talk entering the week was that it would take a long hitter to overpower the 7,467-yard Highlands Course. Toms ranks 178th on the PGA Tour in driving distance with a 278.4 yards average. He is 40 yards shorter than leader J.B. Holmes (318.5).
That didn’t matter. Hitting fairways and staying out of bunkers was at a premium.
“You had to be in the fairway to have any chance at all,” Toms said. “Maybe some of the long hitters were a little more aggressive and made more double bogeys than some of the shorter hitters.”
Toms is likely to be back in Atlanta again. He is in the top 10 in FedEx Cup point standings and is expected to play in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in September, the closing event of the tour’s playoffs.
“I’ve played well the last couple of weeks on two hard golf courses and finished in the top 10 both weeks against strong fields,” said Toms, who tied for ninth at the Bridgestone Invitational. “That gives me a lot of confidence.”
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