Two-time Champions victor David Toms used a 7-under 65 second round Saturday to grab a two-shot lead at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz.
Toms, 56, birdied an impressive nine holes, including a stretch of six birdies over eight holes on the front nine at Omni Tucson National.
“Obviously when you shoot 6 under par first nine, a lot of things went well,” Toms said. “I made a couple nice putts, but I hit a lot of nice shots, kept the ball in play, got pretty hot in the beginning actually.
“Anytime you have a low round you make putts and that’s usually the key for me. I usually have good finishes if my putter stays solid and I’m hoping it sticks with me tomorrow.”
Toms, who also won the U.S Senior Open Championship in 2018 and the Ascension Charity Classic in 2020, shot the fourth-best round of the day and is looking to convert his first ever second-day lead into a win (0-3).
He was outpaced by Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, who fired an 8-under 64 to vault into second place.
Karlsson’s day included six birdies and an eagle on 17.
“I talked to my coach yesterday and he gave me some pointers and I took it with me today,” Karlsson said. “Obviously it worked very, very nice. But I hit the ball quite good yesterday, it was just I had a few shots offline. (I’m) pretty happy in general how things are going.”
Charles Schwab Cup leader Steve Stricker is in third place, three shots back at 8 under after his 6-under 66.
The day’s low round was turned in by Chris DiMarco (63), who leaped into a fourth-place tie (7 under) with South Africa’s Retief Goosen (64) and Germany’s Alex Cejka (70).
First-day leader Brett Quigley cooled off Saturday, dropping into a tie for seventh place at 6 under with a 1-over 73. His round included three bogeys. He opened with a 65 on Friday.
Early round standouts having a rough second day was a theme on Saturday. Of the trio of golfers in second place Friday — John Huston, Kirk Triplett and Brian Cooper – only Triplett managed par on Saturday. He sits in a seventh-place tie with Quigley and fellow American Marco Dawson.
2022 champ Miguel Angel Jimenez from Spain (70) is in a tie for 15th at 4 under.
–Field Level Media