David Toms

Lore & Background

Toms was born in Monroe in northeastern Louisiana. He is the son of Thomas Edward "Buster" Toms from Minden in northwestern Louisiana. Toms won the 15-17 Boys' event at the 1984 Junior World Golf Championships. Toms also played little league baseball with future Major League Baseball players Albert Belle and Ben McDonald. After graduating from Airline High School in Bossier City, Louisiana, he attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and was a member of the golf team.

In Their Own Story

The August heat at Augusta in 2001 sat on the air like a held breath. Toms stood over a ten-foot putt on the 16th, the flagstick pulled, the gallery a hush of rustling programs. He had no fireworks to offer—just a smooth, rhythmic stroke that whispered the ball along the break and into the cup. He did not pump his fist. He did not look up. He simply nodded, let his caddie tap the putter, and walked to the next tee with the same measured pace he had carried since the first tee on Thursday. By Sunday afternoon, the scoreboard told the story he had been writing all week: not a single bogey in the final round, not a single wasted stroke, and a green jacket that fit as naturally as the quiet itself.

Reader's Guide

Toms turned professional and earned his first full PGA Tour card for 1992. He won his first PGA Tour event in 1997 at the Quad City Classic. His standout year was 2001, when he won the Compaq Classic of New Orleans, the PGA Championship (his only major), and successfully defended his title at the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill. He later won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2005. His most recent PGA Tour win came in 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He has also played on the Nike Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour), winning two events in 1995.

Did You Know?

• Toms' winning score of 265 in the 2001 PGA Championship was the lowest absolute 72-hole score ever recorded in a major championship, until Henrik Stenson shot 264 in the 2016 Open Championship.
• Toms played little league baseball with future MLB stars Albert Belle and Ben McDonald.
• Toms lost in a playoff at The Players Championship in 2011 to K. J. Choi after leading for most of the final round.