David Toms shot a 7-under-par 65 on Sunday to win The Galleri Classic in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Toms nearly turned in a clean card, racking up eight birdies against just one bogey to finish at 16-under 200 for the tournament, four strokes ahead of second-place finished Steven Alker of New Zealand. Alker fired a 67 on Sunday at Mission Hills Country Club.
The victory marked Toms’ second of the month on the Champions Tour. He pulled of a one-stroke victory against Sweden’s Robert Karlsson at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz., on March 5.
“I think obviously winning in Tucson helped me today. I was very calm out there,” Toms said. “I played the back nine a lot like I did the first day and that’s really what separated me from the rest of the field was my back nine on Friday and my back nine today.”
Alker logged a bogey-free round, highlighted by back-to-back birdies on the par-4 10th and par-5 11th. He also birdied two of his final three holes, but it wasn’t enough to catch Toms.
“I hadn’t played for a couple weeks, so no expectations really this week,” Alker said. “It was kind of nice, just kind of played and I played nicely today, so nice to get that second place.”
South African Retief Goosen was one of three golfers — along with Toms — to post the low round of the day. His 65 vaulted him 20 spots into a tie for third with Paul Stankowski, who fired a 66 on Sunday.
Goosen got off to a blazing start and was at 9 under through the first 12 holes. However, he tailed off toward the end of his round and picked up a pair of late bogeys at Nos. 15 and 17.
“I hit it behind the trees on 15 and I had to play like a little low cut. I just caught the branch and came up short, hit a poor chip shot,” Goosen said. “And 17 I mis-hit my iron shot off the tee and really left myself not much to do. Actually hit a very good bunker shot, it was about as good as I could do there.”
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington (68 on Sunday) and Steve Stricker (69) were among those who finished in a five-way tie for fifth, six strokes off the lead.
–Field Level Media
