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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 12, 2011

David Toms

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

Q. Tell us about your round of golf?
DAVID TOMS: Really, the key to my round today besides the way I hit the ball off the tee and into the greens was probably my comeback putt on the first hole. I hit a drive right down the middle. Hit what I thought was a perfect 9-iron for the perfect club and flew it about 40 feet past the hole on number 10. Hit my first putt about 8 or 10 feet by the hole, and just poured it right in the middle. That was just kind of the way the day went.
When I did have a par putt that I needed to make to keep the round going, I was able to do that, and I took advantage of all the holes where I was in good shame and had birdie opportunities.

Q. There's been plenty of times that I think most of us have said we thought you had the game that you would and should contend here. Can you explain why maybe only one Top 10 and what clicked today versus maybe in the past?
DAVID TOMS: I've been all over the map at this tournament. I've had times where I felt like I was playing really well coming in, and played awful. Other times where I seemed to find it a little bit and have a decent tournament.
I think it all boils down to just patience. Through my career I haven't been the best at that part of the game. You can get some bad spots here and you have to be able to rebound from it.
I don't know. I can't explain it. I feel comfortable playing here, but I haven't got really close to the lead before, at least not late in the tournament. Maybe one of these years it will all come together for that one week. If you have that one great week, all the other years don't really mean much.
We'll see. I'm playing pretty well right now. The thought process is really good on the course, being very patient. We'll see. If I keep driving the ball well, you never know.

Q. (Indiscernible) after Zurich when I talked to him he said you were hitting the ball really well, you just needed some putts to drop. Do you feel like that's what's happening? That's the difference?
DAVID TOMS: Yeah, certainly. That is the difference in most guys. But for me it's been a big thing this year. I've had a lot of good ball striking days and just haven't put it together with the putter. I haven't had really what I would call a great week with the putter in a long time.
Today really wasn't a great day. It was just you make the ones you're supposed to make, and two-putted the long putts. Just a good, solid day. You don't have to putt great if you hit the ball reasonably well. But just to have four good days of putting, I think I could have a great tournament if I could do that.

Q. (Inaudible)?
DAVID TOMS: You know, 9 wasn't too bad. I had a decent lie over there, and with the pin all the way back, I just kind of had -- you hear guys say playing a chunk-and-run, and that's what I did. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hit the ball cleanly. So I used my gap wedge, didn't use my 60-degree wedge, just kind of chunked it out of there, let it roll back to the hole and it came off perfect.

Q. It looked for a while today like some guys on the leaderboard were back in the late '90s with yourself, Mark O'Meara, David Duval. What do you attribute that to?
DAVID TOMS: This course. You need some experience to play here, especially the wind today was up pretty good, but it was all over the place. There were a lot of times where we had to back off and we weren't sure where it was. Just overall experience.
You don't have to hit driver on every hole. Probably helps me with my length to be able to get it down there with a chance to attack. But I just think the experience factor is big around this golf course.

Q. Does it surprise you when you see a guy -- I know Mark's not like you guys where he plays out here full-time anymore. But does it surprise you when you see a guy like O'Meara?
DAVID TOMS: Not at all. This is the kind of golf course where you can do that. Always helps to hit it long, but here you'd have to be long and straight. But experience, he's probably hit every shot around this golf course over the years. Doesn't surprise me at all that he's playing well.

Q. You said you're thinking well and that you're actually more patient. What do you attribute that to? Why did all of a sudden did that come about?
DAVID TOMS: Maybe I'm finally figuring it out at age 44. I have no idea. I don't know, I just seem to not be putting as much pressure on my self to play every day. I have a lot of things to be thankful for, and just going out and playing golf, really.
I'm playing more golf at home now than I ever have, because my son's playing. Just kind of enjoying the game, and enjoying watching him get into the game. Just focusing on what I shoot every day, and how I got there and what I did. When you have somebody like that, it makes me kind of just enjoy the game a little bit more.

Q. Are the discussions on the phone not much about what's going on at school, but you guys talk about your round?
DAVID TOMS: Yeah, why did I do that, or how did that happen, or what went on, those kind of things. Yeah, absolutely.

Q. How old is he?
DAVID TOMS: He's 13.

Q. Is there a part of you that wants to show him how good you can be?
DAVID TOMS: I think so. I mean, he's grown up on the Tour, so he's seen the good and the bad. But as far as him being into the game, I haven't played just great. I haven't won a tournament where he's been around and really was into golf. I mean, he was young last time I won.
I'd like to play great again just for him to be able to see that. That would be pretty neat to be able to do that, that's for sure.

Q. Since you had an afternoon round that was pretty low, was that sort of like a bit of an advantage where you almost get a lead going into a morning round now?
DAVID TOMS: We'll be back here, it seems like, in just a few hours. I think the greens will be a little better in the morning, little smoother. But you've got to be ready from the first tee shot.
It's going to be 7:45 or whatever I play in the morning, probably dew on the ground. You've got to be out there and be ready. Even though hopefully the wind will lay it down for us a little bit in the morning, and maybe the golf course will be a lit bit easier. But you've certainly got to go out there and hit the shot.

Q. You've had some noted back problems. Is that all solved or semi-solved?
DAVID TOMS: It's just something I have to monitor all the time. This warm weather certainly helps. Any time it's hot, I seem to play a little bit better, a little looser. So with the other guys sometimes complaining about the heat, it's a good thing for me.

Q. But you've done nothing special to it or had nothing done?
DAVID TOMS: No.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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