David Toms loves the Masters Tournament and all that goes with it. Well, almost all that goes with it.

'I wouldn't say it's a great golf course for me. It's a tournament I love to play, but I have to be playing well to really have a chance there.' -David Thoms on his disadvantage at Augusta National Golf Club (File)

He doesn't like the way Augusta National Golf Club has expanded since he made his debut there nearly a decade ago.

In 1998, the course played at 6,925 yards. Now it's up to 7,445 yards.

For that reason, the tournament is a "hit-or-miss kind of thing for me," said the medium-hitting Toms, who has two top-10 finishes in the Masters but has also missed three cuts.

"When I started playing there in the late 1990s, I thought there was a lot more focus on it being a second-shot golf course and on the greens more so than now," he said. "Now it's become a more difficult driving course. It's become a much longer course. The premium is more on the strength of being able to get the ball out there."

The added length might force Toms into hitting his 5-wood more, which isn't a bad thing. It was a 5-wood that Toms used to make a hole-in-one in the third round of the 2001 PGA Championship. The ace helped send him on the way to his only major championship victory.

Earlier this season, Toms heard Fred Couples say he'd made a trip to play the Augusta National and asked him about the course changes for this year.

"I told him that I'd heard they've got some longer holes and he said, 'Yeah, it will be great for you. You'll be hitting 5-wood on every par-4.' It was kind of a funny comment.

"I've definitely used 5-woods out there, but I used to use them on the par-5s; now I have to use it on the par-4s," Toms said.

Toms has had more problems in the past two years in the Masters than his fellow elite players. Toms finished the 2005 season 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but despite that feat, he has missed the cut in the past two Masters.

What's more, he's 15-over par for his past four rounds in the Masters; he shot 78-73 in 2004 and 77-75 in 2005.

"I wouldn't say it's a great golf course for me," Toms said. "It's a tournament I love to play, but I have to be playing well to really have a chance there. I think for some other guys it suits them better because they don't have to necessarily play great to have a chance. You get to a point where it's more difficult for other players."

When he tied for second at Doral in early March, Toms ranked 61st in the field in average driving distance, but he was credited with a 330-yard drive during the event.

"I don't know where that was at; it was obviously on a downwind hole," Toms joked.

Toms can make light of his average length off the tee because he makes up for it in accuracy with his irons and his work around the greens.

"In my opinion, he's as good a ball-striker as we have on tour," said 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk. "As many rounds as I've played with him, I've never seen him strike the ball poorly one round, which is hard to imagine."

Add that to the fact he's ranked second in putting, and it's no wonder Toms was first in scoring average going into The Players Championship, and already has a victory (at the Sony Open), a runner-up finish and a third-place finish.

"I think he's one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, hands down," said Billy Mayfair, who has played against Toms since they were junior golfers.

"I'm playing well, and even when I don't play well I've been scoring pretty well," Toms said. "I'm playing with some confidence.

"I look forward to getting to Augusta. It's a major championship, and I love the feel of the place. My family enjoys going there every year. I enjoy the par-3 tournament and having my son, Carter, caddie for me. I'll be fired up to play."

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.

Not long, plenty strong

David Toms isn't among the big hitters on the PGA Tour, but he's still been in the top 30 on the money list for the past seven years (numbers are ranks on PGA Tour):

Year	Driving Dist.	Scoring Avg.	Money Rank
2005	107	8	5
2004	117	10	22
2003	72	12	8
2002	114	7	4
2001	96	15	3
2000	68	19	15
1999	62	33	10

Source: www.pgatour.com