KAILUA-KONA >> Whatever nerves David Toms faced after the opening round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai were long gone on Friday.
In his first start on the PGA Tour Champions, the youngest man in the field followed his head-scratching 69 on Thursday with a blistering 9-under 63 to jump from a tie for 20th to a tie for fourth at 12-under 132. He enters today’s final round three shots off the pace of leader Bernhard Langer.
So, what was the difference between the two rounds?
“Well I got off to a good start today birdieing the first three holes,” Toms said. “Had kind of a lull in the middle, but then came on strong on the back nine. I felt I played OK the first day, didn’t get much out of it. I was getting lapped by the rest of the field.
“I needed to get something going to get back into the golf tournament. I kind of fed off Tom (Pernice) today (who shot 8-under 64). He had a really good day as well. So just a nice, relaxing 9 under par today.”
Toms said he was glad to be playing the Jack Nicklaus-designed course and being back with golfers he looked up to early in his career. He shook off a little rust at the Sony Open in Hawaii last week, playing the first two rounds with the youngsters before missing the cut.
This week is a little more to his liking, as Toms plans to play more on this tour than with the younger set. You can tell the 50-year-old is comfortable with that decision.
“Well, right now, I just like being out here,” Toms said. “Obviously, a great place to start the year. The scenery is fantastic.
“If you happen to hit a bad shot just look around where you are and it kind of puts it into perspective. The tournament you’re playing in, the people you’re out here with, playing against people I’ve looked up to my whole career in golf. This one is more fun.”
Toms carded four birdies on the front and another five on the back. He just missed a birdie at 17 that could have left him 10 under for his round. When asked if he had picked the brains of any golfer in particular on this tour he said, “No one in particular. Everyone’s been very nice. A little bit from this guy, a little bit from that guy.
“I’m fortunate that I’ve played with a lot of these guys who are still playing well. I played against them my whole career. I’ve known them, I know their wives, I know their kids, so it’s just a little bit more my style for sure.”
Down goes Daly
It didn’t take long for John Daly to fall out of contention after being only one shot off the lead after Thursday’s opening round. Paired with Langer, Daly opened with a horrendous 40 on the front thanks to two double bogeys and two bogeys.
He rallied on the back nine with three birdies, coming in to finish tied for 23rd at 6-under 138. Daly’s driver let him down as he landed in the lava fields more often than he did the first day. Being long off the tee is key here, but being in the fairway is equally critical when the rough is filled with rocks.
Inside the numbers
The scoring average dipped to 68.894 as the 47 golfers continued to go low on this golf course designed for players to do just that.
The hardest hole was the par-3 eighth with a scoring average of 3.234. There were five birdies, 27 pars, 14 bogeys and one double. The easiest hole was the par-5 10th with a scoring average of 4.340. There was one eagle to go with 30 birdies, 15 pars and one bogey.
In the first round there were 200 birdies. That number climbed to 236 on Friday with four eagles against 11 on Thursday. For the second straight day, Hale Irwin shot his age. The 71-year-old fired a 70. Larry Nelson matched his age with a 69.
