Strong showing in Hawaii exactly what Toms needed

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Back pain has limited David Toms on the PGA TOUR in recent years.

David Toms is used to facing doglegs on the PGA TOUR. But now, having just turned 42 and dealing with a winless spell that has reached three full seasons, he's trying to figure out which way his career is heading.

Can he re-capture the form that helped him win 12 PGA TOUR titles, including the 2001 PGA Championship and the 2005 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship?

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Are his best days behind him because of a back injury he suffered in 2006 that has plagued him since and can flare up at any point? Last year marked the first time he didn't finish in the top 50 on the money list -- he was No. 131st -- and he didn't make the Ryder Cup team.

If last week's Sony Open in Hawaii was any indication, Toms isn't ready to head for the clubhouse yet. He closed with rounds of 66, 65 and 66 to finish tied for second, two shots behind winner Zach Johnson.

How vital was this showing? He now has equaled the number of top-10 showings of a year ago. That would be -- um -- one.

"I needed to get off to a good start after the way last year was," Toms said. "I was hoping to obviously get a victory, but Zach played awfully well. I had a chance today to win, and all the way to the end. If that doesn't give you confidence, nothing will. I can take a lot from this week, that's for sure."

Toms realizes his back issues are with him to stay. They first came to light when he had to withdraw from the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot after trying to hit a shot out of the deep rough.

Toms says the injury goes back much farther than that. "I have a degenerative disc," he said. "My father and grandfather had it."

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David Toms came within two shots of forcing a playoff in Hawaii last week.

But nobody has ever questioned Toms' backbone. You don't win a major, play on all those international teams or twice make the finals of the Accenture Match Play Championship without possessing some grit to go with a putting stroke that famed putter maker Scotty Cameron once measured as the best on TOUR.

Johnson, who started the final round with a one-shot lead over Toms and Brian Gay, knew he wouldn't be able to spend Sunday enjoying the spectacular Hawaii scenery. Not with this playing partner.

"I've played with David a number of times and I expect him to make every putt and I expect him to hit every fairway because quite frankly, he typically does that," Johnson said. "I don't think he lost it; I think that I won it. He played really solid."

Toms acknowledges that last year, when he played in a career-low 20 events and didn't post his only top-10 until the Fall Series (he tied for eighth at the Viking Classic), was about as much fun as watching his beloved LSU football team get trounced.

But he admits he was part of the problem, as well.

"There were times when I wasn't as motivated about golf as I should have been," Toms said. "I'm at the point in my life where there are a lot of other things I enjoy to do."

And nobody likes to deal with an injury that can put him on the floor with one bad move. Toms has become too familiar with health issues -- in 2005, he was rushed to a nearby hospital when he experienced a rapid heart rate during the first round of the 84 Lumber Classic.

That non-life-threatening ailment was corrected through surgery. The same cannot be said for the degenerative disc.

"I could probably do something (surgical) to get rid of the pain," Toms said. "But I don't know that I'd ever play golf again. Certainly not at the level I'd like to."

The PGA TOUR needs Toms around, and not just because of his golf. As one of the four players on the PGA TOUR's Policy Board, he plays a vital role in the TOUR's future.

But first and foremost, Toms is a professional golfer, and as he proved last week, he still has plenty of game left even though he's yet to win in his 40s.

"You accept that at 42, I can't do the things I used to do," he said. "I'm not going to make excuses about how I've felt physically. Everyone out here has to put up with something. I feel I can still play the game pretty well at times, when I'm feeling good."

Not surprisingly, Toms has chosen to take the high road.

Craig Dolch is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.