Posted on: Saturday, January 5, 2002

Golf
Toms, Perry ride winds to lead pack at Mercedes

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

It was a tough day for Tiger Woods, who shot a 74 in yesterday's second round of the Mercedes Championships at the Plantation Course, and is seven shots off the lead. . . . David Toms is tied with Kenny Perry after a 66 put him at 11-under-par 135 for 36 holes. . . . Kenny Perry shot a 6-under 67 to share the second-round lead in the Mercedes Championships at Kapalua. Associated Press photos

KAPALUA, Maui — It was a day to lie low at the Mercedes Championships, so the rise of David Toms and Kenny Perry should be no surprise.

Those two, who combined to win four tournaments, a major and more than $5.6 million playing golf last year, share the lead at 11-under 135 going into today's third round. Scott Verplank (69) is one shot back and first-round leader Mike Weir (74) trails by two.

Toms, winner of the 2001 PGA Championship, cut a 7-under 66 through crazy Kona winds that gusted above 20 mph yesterday. He boasted the only bogey-free second round at Kapalua's Plantation Course. Perry (67) caught Toms on the final hole with the last of eight birdies.

"We've seen two conditions," said Perry, who earned his Mercedes invitation by winning last year's Buick Open. "I don't know what we'll see tomorrow. They say you never know around here. I like the other winds better, but I scored better today. I don't know. Maybe I need these winds."

Perry, 41, finished 24th on last year's money list, winning $1 million for the first time in his career.

Toms' breakthrough was even more compelling — two more victories to validate his first major, qualifying for his first Ryder Cup and winning nearly $4 million, third only to Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Despite all that, neither player appears too wrapped up in himself or his golf game.

Perry joked that "old age" was the cause of his resurgence, then allowed that a serene home life actually might be instigating his success.

"Just everything's going real good for me," he said yesterday. "Pretty much I've had a good career. I've been out here 16 years. I don't really have any expectations. I mean, I'm just going to relax and go out and play good golf. Hopefully it's good golf. I'm just going to try to enjoy what I'm doing, enjoy these last few years of my career."

Toms, coming off one of the best non-Tiger seasons ever, sounded just as laid back about his expectations on his 35th birthday.

"As long as I'm satisfied with my preparation, I feel like my golf overall is getting more consistent, I'm happy," Toms said. "It's kind of hard. If you're going to go out and say, 'I have to win two majors and four tournaments this year' that would be crazy for me. I think that would be a goal I couldn't reach. I'd have to be very lucky.

"As long as I'm happy with the way I'm working at my game, the way I'm playing, it will be fine."

Their soothing words were in stark contrast to a swirling, bogey-laden day. In meek winds Thursday, the 32 players were 86-under par. Yesterday, that was reduced to 23 under, no thanks to Toms and Mark Calcavecchia, who also shot 66.

A 12-foot eagle putt on the ninth hole left Toms five under for the front and nine under for the tournament. He drained two more birdie putts from within 10 feet on the back and never even sensed doom while everyone else was being blown all over Kapalua's huge greens.

"These big greens ... " Toms said, shaking his head. "I was fortunate today to hit the ball pin-high. If you don't, you can putt for days on these greens, they're so big."

Perry, and many, many more, lived that nightmare. Both his bogeys were caused by three-putts. He two-putted the sixth (398-yard par-4) and 18th (663-yard par-5) for birdie.

Three-putts were also responsible for Verplank's two bogeys as he grinded his way into third, missing just one fairway and one green, barely.

Weir, after tying the course and tournament record with a 63 Thursday, saw his surge grind to a halt with four three-putts. Still, he was tenacious enough to keep himself in contention.

After playing the first seven holes in three over, he birdied three of the next four. Two more bogeys followed on 15 and 16, but he closed by sinking eight-foot putts for birdie and par — after hitting into the hazard on No. 18.

"I was awful," Weir admitted. "I didn't have a feel for the greens at all, for my speed. I played quite well, think I only missed a couple greens and fairways ... I think the short game was just a little rusty. As I said, I felt like yesterday I could never quite get a feel for how I putted. It was the same today. I needed a few for par today. Much tougher conditions."

Weir called Toms' 66 an equal to his 63 with the difficult conditions. At this point, no one knows what to expect next. But 23 guys are within eight shots of the lead, including defending champion Jim Furyk (72-139) and 2000 champion Tiger Woods (74-142), who triple-bogeyed the first hole yesterday. David Duval (71), the 1999 champion, is tied with Calcavecchia for fifth, three shots back.

SHORT PUTTS: Paul Azinger, who won the 2000 Sony Open in Hawai'i, yesterday withdrew from next week's event at Waialae Country Club. Azinger is suffering from a bad back. ...ÊRory Sabbatini entered Sony yesterday. He finished second at Mercedes a year ago. ... Mercedes-Benz USA, Kapalua Land Company, the PGA Tour and ESPN officially announced yesterday that they have an agreement "in principal" for a four-year contract extension to keep the Mercedes Championships at Kapalua's Plantation Course. Under the agreement, the tournament would remain the season opener. Mercedes moved to Kapalua in 1999. ... In this $4 million limited-field event, tomorrow's last-place finisher gets $50,000.