David Toms on top but Kaymer stays calm at Bermuda Grand Slam
He might not be the biggest draw in golf right now, but David Toms has stolen a march on this year's major-winning hotshots at this year's PGA Grand Slam.
The 43-year-old Toms leads at the Port Royal course after the first round, having shot six birdies and a couple of bogeys to go four-under-par 67 yesterday. That puts him a stroke clear of Ernie Els on three-under. Not a bad opening for two men who were essentially only invited along to make up the numbers.
The Bermuda-based tournament gathers the season's four major winners for a two-round battle between golf's finest. Except that this year the tournament is deprived of not one, but two major winners, Masters winner Phil Mickelson opting to give the competition a miss and Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen dropping out after injuring his ankle.
But both alternatives are making the most of the opportunity. Toms qualified for an invite thanks to his PGA Championship win back in 2001, and after a mediocre 2010, he'll surely take some satisfaction from holding off the challenge of European Ryder Cup heroes Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer.
McDowell won the US Open at Pebble Beach and also saw off Hunter Mahan at the last at Celtic Manor earlier this month to ensure Europe would regain the Ryder Cup, but the Ulsterman finished one-over yesterday. Most of the damage was done on the 11th, where shots into the rough, a bunker and then out-of-bounds resulted in a triple bogey. That meant even consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th saw him finish five shots off the lead.
And Kaymer had a similarly flat beginning. The German won the PGA Championship in August and comes here off the back of three consecutive Tour wins, along with a role in Europe's victory in Wales. Kaymer even has a shot at taking the world No. 1 spot at the end of this month, but the 25-year-old managed only one birdie and four bogeys yesterday, to finish three-over.
Not that the man appeared irked by the experience - on the contrary, Kaymer was reflective, even satisfied. And with the year he's had, who could blame him?
"I didn’t play the best golf today," Kaymer said. "But I was standing on 16 [looking out onto the Atlantic Ocean] and trying to enjoy the moment. For me, I'm only five years a golf professional. I just thought it's quite stunning to be here already that early in my career."
"It was one of those moments where you realise you’re a winner," he added. "It takes some time to realise. It's not normal what I've done the last few years, especially this year."
With the chance to nail that No. 1 spot before 2011, this year's outstanding achievements may not have come to an end just yet, either. Before the chance to topple Tiger Woods though, he may just want to give David Toms a decent challenge in Bermuda today.
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