David Toms thought his season was over. The 2001 PGA Champion was on the FedEx Cup bubble heading into last week's Wyndham Championship, but withdrew from the Greensboro event, seemingly putting an end to the 49-year-old's time on the PGA Tour (Toms turns 50 this winter). Not that he had any regret. For Toms didn't pull out of Wyndham with an injury or scheduling conflict. He bypassed the tournament for a worthy endeavor: Assisting Louisiana flood victims.
Toms initially scheduled a short trip to his home state to help his son move into LSU, but when he saw the damage caused by the horrific damage caused by prolonged rainfall, he knew golf wasn't in his forecast.
“My first thought was what I could do to help them. I took some supplies down, things they needed. Food, water, clothes,” Toms told the Golf Channel. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s going to be a long recovery, I know for sure. Even though the water has gone down now, everybody’s having to rip out the insides of their homes. Their businesses are shut down.”
Since he was 121st in FedEx Cup standings, he knew the selfless act would likely leave Toms on the outside looking in. Luckily for him, only two players made a move into the top 125, meaning Toms would earn a trip to the FedEx Cup, as well as keeping his tour card for next season.
“Obviously happy to keep my card again,” Toms said. “At my age, it’s still quite an accomplishment to be an exempt player on the PGA Tour, so I’m proud of that.”
At No. 124 in the standings, Toms will need a strong showing at the Barclays to make it to the Deutsche Bank Championship. No matter; whatever transpires at Bethpage, Toms is already one of the winners of this season's FedEx Cup.
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