Co-leader overnight with compatriot Chez Reavie, the red-hot Toms birdied four of the last eight holes for a second successive 8-under-par 62 at Colonial Country Club.
The 44-year-old, who was beaten in a playoff for the Players Championship last week, matched the PGA Tour record for the lowest 36-hole start with a 16-under total of 124.
Fellow American Pat Perez set the same mark after the first two rounds of the 2009 Bob Hope Classic.
Australians Steve Bowditch (64) and John Senden (66) were tied for second at nine under with South Korean Charlie Wi (67) and American Mark Wilson (66).
Toms, however, spreadeagled the field with another bogey-free display at Colonial where he reached 17 of 18 greens in regulation and needed only 27 putts.
He birdied the first, fourth, seventh and ninth to stretch his lead to three but, after hitting his tee shot at the 11th, had to wait two-and-a-half hours to resume when play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.
"I guess it was a chance to lose some momentum," Toms, a 12-times PGA Tour champion, told reporters.
"But I came out and the conditions were perfect for scoring.
"My mindset was to just keep making birdies, try to separate myself a little bit. I just went out and played great the last eight holes or so, some of the best golf I have played in a long time."
Toms, whose most recent PGA Tour victory came at the 2006 Sony Open, said conditions following the weather delay were typical of late afternoon golf after a rain shower.
- Reuters
Tags: sport, golf, united-states
No comments:
Post a Comment