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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 8:19 a.m., Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Toms will play with new irons at Kapalua

By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press

KAPALUA — David Toms will make his debut at Kapalua with his new TaylorMade irons, having signed a new endorsement deal after Cleveland decided not to renew any of its contracts.

The change could include the end of a club that made him famous — his 5-wood.

Toms has had the club since 1998, and his most memorable shot came in the third round of the 2001 PGA Championship when he made a hole-in-one on the 15th hole at Atlanta Athletic Club, where he went on to win by one shot.

He was testing a TaylorMade hybrid at the Target World Challenge two weeks ago, and he was trying out another hybrid during a practice round Monday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

"Sooner or later, I'm going to retire it," Toms said.

Joe Durant is using the latest irons from Cleveland, putting aside a model he has used for eight years. He tried to switch last year, returned to his old clubs and finished the year with a victory and two top-five finishes.

"I struggled last year trying to make a transition to the irons, and the guys at Cleveland were nice enough to give me the year to really work on it," Durant said. "This year, I knew I needed to make a switch and here I am. I'm happy with what I've got in the bag."

He also left Titleist, signing a ball, shoe and glove deal with Callaway.