Going Home Is Very Sweet for Toms

David Toms rewarded his cheering hometown fans with a birdie on the 18th hole to wrap up an eight-under-par 64 and a two-stroke victory in the Compaq Classic Sunday at New Orleans.

“When I made the putt on the last hole it was pretty loud. The guy in the scorers tent said, ‘Man, that was a roar,’ ” Toms said. “. . . But I was screaming myself.”

Toms, who finished at 22-under 266, birdied the first hole then finished the front nine at two under, offsetting a bogey on No. 5 with two more birdies. On the back nine, Toms birdied 10, 16 and 18 and eagled 11.

Phil Mickelson shot a 72 to finish second at 268. Mickelson, who took three weeks off after finishing third in the Masters, took a share of the lead in the second round and was three strokes ahead entering the final round.

“It was certainly disappointing to have the lead that I had and really only two or three people had a good shot at catching me, and then to play the way that I did was pretty disappointing,” Mickelson said. “It was a pathetic round of golf.”

Mickelson pulled within one stroke with a birdie on 16 but could do no better than par on the last three holes.

Annika Sorenstam won for the fifth time this year, beating Swedish compatriot Sophie Gustafson on the second playoff hole in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship at Stockbridge, Ga. Sorenstam birdied five of the last six holes in regulation to overcome a four-stroke deficit, tying Gustafson at 13-under 203.

Both players started the sudden-death playoff with birdies at the par-five 18th, but Gustafson hooked an eight-iron in the water at the next hole, No. 10. Sorenstam put her shot safely in the middle of the green and two-putted for the victory.

Sorenstam already has won five tournaments this year--in only eight events--and became the first female golfer to eclipse $7 million in career earnings.

Sorenstam took a week off after her winning streak ended with a 43rd-place finish in the Longs Drugs Challenge.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she said after shooting a final-round 67. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work and to see the results so quickly is great.”

Bruce Fleisher won the Home Depot Invitational for the third consecutive year, closing with a four-under 68 for a three-stroke victory in the Senior PGA event at Charlotte, N.C.

Fleisher, who began the final round a stroke behind Jim Colbert, had a tournament-record 15-under 201. John Bland of South Africa shot 66 to finish second.

Colbert shot a 72 to tie for third with Larry Nelson and Jim Thorpe at 11 under. Nelson and Thorpe had 66s.

Jose Maria Olazabal closed with a three-under-par 67 to finish at 12-under 268 to win the French Open, a rain-delayed tournament at Lyon, France. . . . Zhang Lianwei, China’s top golfer, shot a three-under-par 68 to win the Macau Open by a stroke over Simon Yates of Scotland. Zhang finished at 11-under 273. . . . Karrie Webb won the Nichirei Cup at Inagi, Japan, for the second consecutive year, closing with a one-under-par 71 for a six-stroke victory at 10-under 278.

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Up Next

This week’s schedule for golf’s major tours:

PGA SCHEDULE

Thursday-Sunday--Byron Nelson Classic, Irving, Texas.

SENIOR SCHEDULE

Friday-Sunday--Match Play Championship, Augusta, Mo.

LPGA SCHEDULE

Thursday-Sunday--Electrolux USA Championship, Franklin, Tenn.