David Toms

I’ve never been to Louisiana, but I can picture some of the folks who live there sitting on the front porch sipping lemonade on a hot summer day. David Toms fits that image well. David Toms is a low-profile man with a high-profile game. Low-profile comes naturally to a guy who grew up, not in New York, Seattle, or Beverly Hills, but in Shreveport, Louisiana. The pace there is a bit slower than in almost any part of the country and that is the way Toms seems to like it.

Anybody who plays golf knows that staying emotionally calm is the best way to score well. Football and basketball are two sports that thrive on raw emotional energy but golf doesn’t generally work that way. I’ve heard sports psychologists specializing in golf say that Tiger Wood’s wild fist pumps and on-green celebrations aren’t the best way to manage a round. Personally, I doubt Tiger could have won any more tournaments without his antics. On the other hand, you won’t hear anyone criticizing David Toms for getting over-excited.

Toms’ steadiness and patience has paid off in recent years. Since 1997 he’s claimed 11 trophies, his most recent at the 2005 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. 1999, 2001, and 2003 were all years in which he won multiple tournaments.

Toms’ best finish came in 2001 at the PGA Championship. His highlight reel would include a clip of his ace on the par-3 15th in the third round. He was able to hold off a Major-hungry Phil Mickelson on Sunday when he chose to lay up short of the water hazard on the final hole. He stroked a wedge to 12 feet and sunk the putt for par and won. It was only three months earlier (May 2001) that Toms defeated Mickelson at the Compaq Classic of New Orleans. Toms had three victories in 2001, second only to Tiger Woods’ five.

Currently Toms is 10th in the World Golf Rankings and 4th on the money list with a total of $3,339,463 in 2005. He is the fourth-ranked American. As for current statistics he’s 104th in driving distance at 284.8 yards average, 10th in GIR, 6th in putting average, 3rd in birdie average, and 9th in scoring average. In short, he is qualified to be among the world’s very best. Of his swing, caddie Peter Cowen said, “Technically he is very sound, he has the sort of swing you would want to copy as a kid. There’s just not a lot that can go wrong with it.”

Despite his silky swing, Toms has had moments he would like to forget. Rewind to the 2003 Wachovia Championship and you’ll find him carding an 8 on the 478-yard par-4 18th final hole. “It was an interesting finish,” Toms said. “People keep talking about it. My response has been I made an eight on the last hole and still kicked their butts, so I must have been doing OK. The other 71 holes were darn near perfect.” I like it when the best in the world play like me.

David is a family man. He is married to Sonya and has two kids, Carter Phillip (born July of 1997) and Anna (born May of 2005). David’s wife, Sonya, didn’t know a thing about golf when they met on a blind date in 1991. David had just returned from the Asian tour. She soon learned the ropes as they were married his rookie year on Tour (1992). She also had to learn the meaning of patience as it wasn’t long after securing his first Tour card that he lost it.

While David ranks near the top of the World Golf Rankings, Sonya ranks near the top of the hottest Tour wives. She modeled a bikini for Sports Illustrated’s 2003 Swimsuit Issue. David appeared alongside her and doesn’t seem to mind that a mere 50 million copies of that issue went to newsstands and mailboxes. Of his attire during the photo shoot he says, “They never asked me to get in a bathing suit, and I never offered.”

Toms designed Carter Plantation, a golf course in Springfield, Louisiana. The course puts a premium on accuracy as the undulating greens require a well placed shot to score well. The Plantation is a recipient of Golf Digest’s 2004 “Top 10 Courses You Can Play.”

The PGA Tour has provided privileged living for Toms and his family but he hasn’t forgotten to remember others along the way. The David Toms Foundation arose out of his concern for abused abandoned, and underprivileged children. “If we can help a family get off the street, get a child away from an abusive home or help a child learn life skills, then we are creating hope and making a difference in the community,” said Toms.

Toms was in a bit of a slump this spring which likely stemmed from trouble he was having with his agent. He recently filed a lawsuit to terminate his contract and recover unpaid sponsorships. The 13 page lawsuit claims that his agent, David K. Parker, and his company, Links Sports Management Group, did not accept Toms letter of termination sent in April. “I don’t like controversy,” said Toms in a recent interview. “I like people to get along, things to be smooth — that’s the way I try to live my life. Any time it’s not that way, mentally, it’s taken its toll the last six weeks or so.”

Fellow Tour players would tell you that Toms is a class act. Younger players would do well to emulate both his swing and his general approach to life. This man with a southern drawl has done pretty well for himself. Expect to hear more from David Toms.

Photo Credits: © Cleveland Golf, David Toms Foundation.