Toms on top at Wachovia Championship

Toms, the winner of the inaugural Wachovia Championship in 2003, has battled back problems all year, but found himself one ahead at Quail Hollow Club.

Mickelson was two-under through his first 15 holes thanks to three birdies and a bogey. He got to three-under with a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-five seventh, but it was a vintage Mickelson shot that got to him within one.

The three-time major winner missed the green with a seven-iron at the ninth. He was pin-high, 25 feet from the hole and Mickelson chipped in to register his 68.

"It was a good day," said Mickelson, who has not played since a tie for fifth at the Masters three weeks ago. "It felt good, and it's good to see some positive results from the time I spent the last couple weeks."

Mickelson, Toms and Bohn all benefit this week from the absence of the defending champion. Tiger Woods won the title last year, but knee surgery a few weeks back caused him to miss his title defense.

That opened the door for Toms to take the first-round lead for the first time in over two years.

Toms started on the back nine Thursday and birdied his first hole when he knocked a sand-wedge to five feet. He drove into the trees at 11 en route to a bogey, but made up the lost stroke with a long birdie putt at the 12th.

The 2001 PGA Champion nearly recorded an ace at the par-three 13th. Toms' five-iron stopped an inch from the hole, but he tapped in the birdie putt to reach two-under for the championship.

Toms landed in a front bunker with his second at the par-five 15th. He blasted out to 12 feet and drained the birdie putt. Toms closed his opening nine with a 25-foot birdie putt from the back of the green at 18 to make the turn at minus-four.

Toms found trouble early on his second nine. He found the fairway at one, but hit a poor eight-iron that left him with 40 feet for birdie. Toms three-putted for a bogey, but atoned for the error with a spectacular six-iron from the left rough at four that gave him a four-foot birdie putt.

At the par-five seventh, Toms' third landed in a sand-filled divot. His shot landed in a bunker where he got out to six feet. Toms missed the six-footer to save par and fell down to three-under.

Toms closed with a fury to get the lead. He wedged his approach to a foot to set up a tap-in birdie at eight, then hit a six-iron inside two feet at the ninth to get the first-round lead.

"It does feel good to play solid golf again," said Toms. "I played today with last week's winner (Adam Scott at the Byron Nelson Championship), who's a heck of a player, so just trying to keep up with him. I'm just glad to see the inside of one of these media rooms again. It's been a while.

The reason for the layoff from the media types is a back injury that Toms describes as "a couple of deteriorated disks in the back." He withdrew from his second-round match at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, then played the next two weeks and missed the cut in both starts.

Toms took basically the next month off and returned to make the cut at the Masters. He tied for 61st at the Heritage the following week and is now atop the leaderboard.

"I need to pace myself with golf," acknowledged Toms. "That means practice time, tournaments played, everything, because all of it is wear and tear. I think it wears on you mentally more than anything else."

Last year's Masters champion Zach Johnson, former British Open winner Ben Curtis, John Merrick, Vaughn Taylor, Nick Flanagan, Camilo Villegas, Stephen Ames, Jeff Quinney and Steve Marino are knotted in fourth place at three-under 69.

Vijay Singh, Geoff Ogilvy and Rory Sabbatini headline a group in 11th at minus-two.

Scott is in the hunt for a second title in as many weeks. He shot an even-par 72 and is part of a group tied for 48th place.

Trevor Immelman's post-Masters hangover continued. He returned to action last week at the Byron Nelson Championship for the first time since donning the green jacket and missed the cut. He carded a four-over 76 on Thursday.