PINEHURST, N.C. -- David Toms is only four shots out of the
lead heading into the weekend at the U.S. Open. That fact alone was
enough to console him after a collapse on the final two holes cost
him a spot at the top of the leaderboard.
The 2001 PGA champ was in the lead, but finished double
bogey-triple bogey in the second round Friday to drop him all the
way down to a tie for 17th after a 2-over 72. Perhaps most
distressing, Toms has a host of world-class players between him and
the top spot, including Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood,
Adam Scott and Tiger Woods.
Toms is at 2-over 142 for the tournament.
"I played really well for the last couple days. I just had two
bad holes," he said as he headed to the parking lot. "Certainly,
I'm disappointed with the way I finished up, but there's a lot of
positives. I shot even-par yesterday with absolutely getting
nothing to happen out of my game, and today I played great. I just
didn't finish up very well."
At one point, Toms was all alone at 4-under, cruising along with
a straight driver and solid iron shots. Then came the double at No.
8 -- his 17th hole -- and he went to the tee at the par-3 9th one
shot behind.
He was the third to hit in his group and got a good read on the
shot but came up short in the bunker. With his ball close to the
lip, he didn't catch enough sand on his explosion and sent the ball
over the back of the green. Then his pitch didn't have enough steam
to make it up the slope, and it rolled back down to his feet.
Yet he never lost his patience, concentrating on each shot and
eventually making a 6.
"What I did on 8 didn't have anything to do with what I did on
9," Toms said. "I took my time on my bunker shot, went up there,
regrouped, went over the green and tried to hit the best shot I
could there. It was just in a tough spot. I regrouped before I hit
the second one, and I made a nice, solid triple bogey."
Toms was able to joke about his struggles, since most everyone
else endured problems of their own. Despite cooler conditions at
the start of play, the wind picked up and the rock-hard fairways
continued to kick what looked like perfect drives into the thick
Bermuda rough.
From there, simply getting the ball near the green was a
problem. Toms did it better than most for 16 holes, only to lose it
all in the final two.
"It's just hard," said Rocco Mediate, the first-round
co-leader who fought his own demons during a 74. "You've just got
to figure out a way to get in."
If Toms could have done that, he might still be leading.
"I should have just tried to chunk it out of the bunker. I was
too aggressive," he said. "Looking back, I should have just
gotten it out of there and got my bogey and got out of town."