Round 4: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial
May 22 2011
8:08 pm
Toms moves to fourth in FedExCup
With his first win in five years, David Toms jumped from 22nd to fourth in the FedExCup standings.
Bubba Watson, who had the week off, still holds the top spot.
Charlie Wi, meanwhile, climbed 66 spots to 38th in the standings. Also making a big move was the winner of last year’s Crowne Plaza Invitational, Zach Johnson, on the strength of his final-round 65. He jumped 23 spots to 39th in the standings.
Bo Van Pelt and Chez Reavie also made big moves, up 36 and 40 spots, respectively.
6:30 pm
Congratulate Toms on his victory
David Toms won for the first time since 2006 on Sunday, rallying past Charlie Wi for a one-shot victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Send your thoughts to Toms here and we’ll pass them along.
6:01 pm
Toms wins Colonial, breaks drought
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH, Texas – David Toms ended his five-year victory drought on the PGA TOUR, claiming the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial by one shot over Charlie Wi.
Toms last won in 2006 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Sunday’s win is his 13th on TOUR. He moves to fourth in the FedExCup standings.
“It took a lot of guts,” an emotional Toms told CBS after his round. “That’s what I got by on. … I played a great round of golf.”
He came close to breaking his drought last week, losing in a playoff to K.J. Choi at THE PLAYERS Championship.
He appeared in total control of this week’s tournament after 36 holes, posting consecutive rounds of 62 to give him a seven-shot lead going into the weekend. But a third-round 74 left him one shot behind Wi going into Sunday’s final round.
But Toms grabbed the lead by holing out for eagle at the par-5 11th hole and eventually finished with a 3-under 67.
“When stuff like that happens,” Toms said, “it’s like it’s meant to be.”
Wi shot a 1-under 69 on Sunday and hung tough after starting the day with his first 54-hole lead on TOUR. He was three shots behind with three holes to play, but made up two strokes with a birdie at the 16th and a Toms bogey at the 17th when both players found themselves in greenside bunkers.
But his birdie attempt from 44 feet on the 72nd hole came just a foot short.
“I certainly didn’t give it to him,” Wi said. “He definitely earned it.”
Wi has now been a runner-up four times in his TOUR career.
“It’s great to finish second on the PGA TOUR any time,” Wi said. “But at the same time, it’s bittersweet.”
Toms has come close to winning before at Colonial. He tied for fourth in 2000, tied for second in 2002 and tied for third in 2005.
“I’ve wanted this tournament for a long time,” Toms said. “It’s a great course for me.”
5:50 pm
Toms bogeys, lead reduced to one
FORT WORTH, Texas – David Toms and Charlie Wi both found themselves in the greenside bunker at the 17th. But only Wi managed to save par.
Toms missed his par-saving putt from 12 feet to drop a stroke. He’s now is at 15 under, one shot ahead of Wi going to the 72nd hole at Colonial in Sunday’s final round.
5:39 pm
Wi birdies; Toms’ lead now two shots
FORT WORTH, Texas – A birdie at the 16th by Charlie Wi has reduced David Toms’ lead to two shots with two holes to play in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Through the first three rounds, each player was 2 under on the last two holes, neither suffering a bogey. Wi birdied both holes in the first round; Toms birdied 17 in the second round and 18 in the first round.
5:17 pm
Leaderboard update: Toms pulls away
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH, Texas – Rolling in a birdie putt just inside 15 feet at the par-4 14th, David Toms is now three shots ahead of Charlie Wi going into the final four holes.
Toms’ birdie moved him to 16 under for the tournament; he’s a bogey-free 4 under on his round.
Wi went bogey-birdie-bogey to start his back nine and is now 13 under, as the tournament has now become a two-man race.
John Senden and Stuart Appleby are the next closest competitors still on the course; each are at 7 under.
Appleby had been at 12 under through 11 holes, but he suffered two bogeys, then a triple bogey at the 14th.
Bo Van Pelt is currently the clubhouse leader at 10 under, six shots off the pace.
Should Toms win, it would end his five-year victory drought on the PGA TOUR. Wi is looking for his first TOUR victory.
5:09 pm
Hole-out for eagle key for Van Pelt
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH, Texas — Bo Van Pelt called it a "wild back nine." Certainly it was an effective one, as he made a rapid climb up the leaderboard at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial with his fast finish.
Van Pelt produced an eagle and four birdies in his final nine holes, and had he not bogeyed the 12th, he would have shot 29, just one off the back-nine course record.
As it turned out, his 30 — and his overall 5-under 65 on Sunday — left Van Pelt in a pretty good mood. It also left him inside the top five on the leaderboard.
"I feel like I’ve let a few rounds slip away this year," he said. "So to finish like that is nice."
Van Pelt got his back nine started when he holed out for eagle at the par-4 10th from 141 yards. He hit a hybrid off the tee and had a good lie after landing in the first cut.
"It was the perfect distance for a pitching wedge," Van Pelt said of his second shot, "but you never know exactly how it’ll come out. But it landed on the front of the green and rolled in like a putt.
"Obviously I wasn’t planning on making it, but I knew I had hit a good shot. It was a great way to start the back nine."
Making his eighth start at Colonial, Van Pelt has three top-10 finishes and two others inside the top 20. He was born in Indiana but went to college at Oklahoma State and now lives in Tulsa, just a few hours’ drive from Fort Worth. That allows friends and family to come see him play.
"We have a lot of Fort Worth connections," Van Pelt said. "We love this town."
And he loves Colonial.
"It’s one of my favorites," he said. "It’s one I look forward to every year."
4:37 pm
Another strong finish for Z. Johnson
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH, Texas — Zach Johnson closed well earlier two weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Championship with a final-round 68. He climbed up the leaderboard last Sunday at THE PLAYERS Championship with a 66. And he posted a 5-under 65 in today’s final round of the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial, thus far the low round of the day.
It’s a trend that Johnson likes to see.
"I always like finishing strong on Sunday and the last three Sundays, I’ve played really well, put some good numbers up," he said.
Unfortunately for Johnson, it won’t be enough to successfully defend his Crowne Plaza title. He finished the four days at 9 under, which left him five strokes off the pace when he signed his scorecard.
Johnson will look back at the first two rounds when he posted 10 birdies but only had 3 under to show for it, leaving him 13 shots off the lead after 36 holes.
"I made some stupid bogeys, dumb bogeys," he said. "Three putts from 20 feet, things of that nature. That’s golf.
"I had momentum coming into this week. It just didn’t pan out early in the week. But no regrets, no disappointments."
Despite those early mistakes, Johnson managed four consecutive sub-par rounds this week. In fact, he now has a string of 12 consecutive sub-par rounds at Colonial. He has one win and two other top-10s to show for it.
If anybody on the PGA TOUR seems to have solved Colonial, it’s Johnson. Right?
"I don’t know if I got it figured out," Johnson said, "but I certainly enjoy it. I think you can read too much into (the course), you can try to pick it apart too much instead of playing your own game.
"At the same time, you’re afraid not to take Colonial for what it is. It’s a carving golf course, a course where you’ve got to hit conservative solid shots. The greens are receptive enough where you can be conservative and make some putts, and also receptive when there’s no wind and you can be aggressive.
"But it just depends on the wind. Colonial is the epitome of a wind-based golf course. That’s why I love it."
Johnson said his next start will be the FedEx St. Jude Classic in June.
4:24 pm
Toms holes out for eagle, takes lead
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH, Texas – David Toms holed out for eagle from 83 yards at the par-5 11th, giving him a one-shot lead over Charlie Wi going into the final seven holes Sunday.
Toms’ shot bounced past the pin, then spun back into the cup. He’s now 15 under for the tournament.
Wi, meanwhile, found the bunker with his second shot, and got up-and-down for birdie.
Toms is now a bogey-free 3 under on his round, bouncing back from Saturday’s third-round 74 that cost him a seven-shot lead.
Wi, playing with the 54-hole lead for the first time in his PGA TOUR career, has had a rollercoaster day with four birdies and three bogeys, and is 1 under on the day and 14 under for the tournament.
Stuart Appleby is alone at third at 12 under.
All three players still have seven holes to play.
3:57 pm
Champ’s scouting report on back nine
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
FORT WORTH, Texas – The final twosome of the day, Charlie Wi and David Toms have just made the turn in Sunday’s final round, with Wi clinging to a one-stroke lead over Toms. Stuart Appleby, playing in the group ahead of Wi and Toms, is another shot back.
Defending champion Zach Johnson just completed his round, a 5-under 65 that vaulted him into fifth place on the leaderboard at the moment at 9 under for the tournament. Wi leads at 14 under.
Asked what the leaders can expect to see on the back nine, Johnson replied:
“You have to be patient and trust your compass, trust your read. There are certain pins you have to be conservative. Twenty feet left or right of the hole is a great shot. These greens are holding still.
“You can be aggressive on your distances but you lines need to be a little conservative, just because of the wind. If you give yourself 15-, 20-footers, you can make the putt. The greens are true.
“It’ll be interesting to see. I think the guy who comes out on top won’t back into it. He’ll win it.”
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