Toms repeats at Michelob

Hank Kurz Jr

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2001 | 12:07 p.m.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- It wasn't all that long ago that David Toms was a struggling pro, going tournament to tournament, hoping to get that payday that justified the pursuit.

"1994 might have been the worst year of my life," Toms said Sunday after winning the Michelob Championship for the second consecutive year.

"Everybody took care of you while you were young; all of a sudden you had to take care of yourself and I wasn't doing a very good job of it."

That year, Toms missed the cut in half of the 32 tournaments he played, earned just $87,607 and a demotion to the Buy.com Tour.

But times have changed for Toms, who has gone from being a wannabe on tour to a player the others want to be like.

Toms showed why again Sunday, starting the final round with the lead, adding to it immediately, and then making the shots he needed to hold off a charging Kirk Triplett.

Toms' 3-under-par 68 gave him a 269 total, 15 under for four trips around the River Course at Kingsmill, and kept his star rising.

The victory was his third this year, and seventh of his career. It also was his fifth in seven tries when he led entering the final round.

Such numbers scream superstar, but that word left Toms protesting.

"I might be one of the five best players in the world, but (Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Duval), and I think you can throw Ernie Els in there and maybe Vijay (Singh). I don't know, they are physically more talented," he said, seeming uncomfortable talking about himself that way.

"I just think there are a handful of people that are just better than everyone else. That's just life. You can look at that in any sport."

But the way Toms is going, even he may see the truth soon enough.

"How close?" Triplett scoffed when asked about Toms' proximity to the elite. "I have considered him an elite player for a long time."

Toms separated himself from the field with birdies on four of his first seven holes. He led by as many as four, saw it cut to one when he bogeyed No. 17 after Triplett had a late surge, then calmly rolled in a 3-foot putt at No. 18 to end the suspense.

"It has been a good year, and winning this week is extra special because of the way I played last week," the PGA champion said.

Last week, he missed the cut in Texas.

"To come back the next week and be able to do this, it's obviously a bonus and it just shows that when I put my mind to it and really work hard, I can turn it around pretty quick," he said.

The victory tied Toms with Phil Mickelson and David Duval for second place with six victories since 1999. Tiger Woods leads with 22.

Toms won $630,000 to move from fifth to third on the money list with more than $3.3 million in 25 events. Only Woods and Mickelson have more.

Even Triplett, one group ahead of Toms, passed on returning to the 18th green after signing his card. He stayed in the scoring trailer getting a play-by-play on Toms' fortunes on the phone from his wife.

"It's probably easier to just stay in that trailer where nobody is looking at you," Triplett said, laughing at himself. "Then when he makes par you can slump down and say, 'God,' and the camera is not on you."

Triplett didn't miss much. Toms' drive split the fairway on the final hole, his approach hit the green and he two-putted from 35 feet.

But after coming to Kingsmill off a five-week layoff and starting the tournament with a double-bogey, Triplett was thrilled to have made a run.

"I was very rested and I think that helped me in a lot of ways, just staying patient," he said. "I wasn't sure how I was going to play."

Triplett used birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 17 to get second by three shots. Esteban Toledo, bogey-free until he missed a 5-foot putt on the final hole, dropped into a tie for third with rookie Charles Howell III.

Howell was bogey-free in a closing 67, his third top-5 finish of the year, and moved closer to joining the top 30 in prize money.

"That will be huge," the 22-year-old Howell said of possibly getting into the top 30. "My No. 1 goal starting this year, apart from getting my status for next year, was to play the Tour Championship."

Len Mattiace was fifth after a birdie-birdie finish gave him a 67, and J.J. Henry was sixth after making two bogeys in his last three holes.