David Toms avoids craziness of 18th hole, leads 2023 Galleri Classic

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The trouble that many leaders found on the 18th hole of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course on Saturday couldn’t trip up David Toms in the inaugural Galleri Classic.

With players making bogey and double bogey in the groups ahead of him, Toms played the 531-yard par-5 with its famous island green conservatively for a par. That capped a 2-under 70 for Toms on a warm day in Rancho Mirage as he reached 9-under 135 and maintained a one shot lead over Kevin Sutherland.

“I could have gone for it,” Toms said of reaching the green in two. “I only had 225 to the front, but when you have a club that long to try and stop it before it goes over or goes to the back of the green and you have that (80-foot) putt that Rod Pampling had.”

Pampling managed to two-putt the green for a birdie, but others who finished ahead of Toms were not as fortunate in the second round of the 54-hole PGA Tour Champions event that is the first in the desert since 1997 and the first event at Mission Hills Country Club since the departure of the LPGA last year.

Dicky Pride had the same cross-country putt on the sloping green and knocked it in the water on the way to a 7. Steven Alker’s drive hit a tree and either never came down or bounced into the lake on his way to a 7. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Padraig Harrington each hit the water around the green to take 6s.

“It’s that type of hole,” Toms said. “I think it might make it good for the fans and for the players as well. If they move the tee up another 20 yards, we’ll see a lot of guys go for it. So we’ll see how they set it up tomorrow.”

The rest of Toms’ round featured what he called the same solid play as he displayed with a 65 on Friday, just not the same scoring.

“I was in control most of the day. I missed a couple of greens there on the back nine but other than that it was really solid,” Toms said. “I didn’t make a whole lot of putts, but I felt like my speed was pretty good.”

Those missed greens on the back nine led Toms’ to bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes, sandwiched around a birdie on the 16th.

Sutherland played a solid round again for a 70, with three birdies and one bogey. His chance to hold the overnight lead ended when he bogeyed the 16th while Toms was making his birdie.

“Same as yesterday. I mean, for the most…