Toms knows winning right now means everything

HONOLULU - David Toms isn't worried about his heart, which is ticking fine.

Trouble is, the clock is ticking, too.

A late bloomer who didn't capture his first PGA Tour victory until he was 30, Toms is starting to see the window of opportunity closing. He turned 39 the day before the season-opening Mercedes Championships on Maui, which makes him wonder how many years remain of his best golf.

And as he showed Sunday at the Sony Open, his best golf is very good.

Toms went 41 consecutive holes without a 5 on his card in the wind and winding fairways of Waialae. He followed the best score of his career - a 9-under-par 61 that set the course record - with two birdies in three holes that sent him on his way to 65 and a five-shot victory over two helpless challengers, Chad Campbell and Rory Sabbatini.

It was the 12th victory of his career, which includes a major and a World Golf Championship event.

"I'm not saying I'm close to being done or anything," Toms said. "But I have to get it now when I can, and when I do play well, capitalize on it."

Toms concedes he has come a long way from where he was four months ago.

After the first nine holes of the 84 Lumber Classic, he felt his heart beating out his chest, dropped to a knee and nearly fainted. Strapped into a stretcher, his heart rate climbed to 170 beats per minute, and he was rushed to a hospital and briefly listed in critical condition.

He had an electrical problem in his heart, and had surgery to fix it after the season.

He is more interested in the future. This is the earliest Toms has won a tournament, which puts him in a good frame of mind for the rest of the West Coast swing, into Florida in March and then on to the Masters Tournament.

He was testy on Maui, where he was one shot out of the lead going into the weekend until rounds of 79-75. Toms barked at his caddie, Scott Gneiser, whenever he missed the green, questioning club selection. To him, it was an opportunity wasted.

And that's why Sunday at the Sony Open was so important.

"Early in my career, it was like, 'Oh, make some cuts, try to get into contention, see how you do.' When I started winning tournaments, that felt good, too. But I wouldn't say it was everything to me. Now it is," he said.

The victory moved Toms to No. 8 in the world ranking, a place he feels he belongs.

And he hopes it sets him up for a big year, like the one he had in 2001 when he made the gutsy move to lay up short of the water on the par-4 18th at Atlanta Athletic Club, then got up and down for par to beat Phil Mickelson in the PGA Championship. He wound up third on the money list that year, and has been a staple among the stars ever since.

"There are obviously superstars that win all the time, and it looks like it comes easy to them," Toms said. "Maybe it looked like it came easy to me because I played great, but on the inside, it's always a battle."

A year ago, he crushed everyone in his way while winning the Accenture Match Play Championship.

"I think about it all the time," he said. "Like, 'Why can't I do that again?' I'm sure there are a lot of players that it happens to more than me. But I'd like to find it as soon as possible."