Toms equals PGA scoring record at Colonial
FORT WORTH, Texas, May 20 (UPI) -- David Toms equaled the lowest opening 36-hole score in PGA Tour history Friday and opened a massive seven-shot lead midway through the Colonial Invitation.
Toms waited out a rain delay during the afternoon and then turned in his second straight 62 at the Colonial Country Club. His 124 total tied the tour mark for the first two rounds of a tournament set in 2009 at the Bob Hope Classic by Pat Perez.
Toms also equaled the record for lowest back-to-back rounds at any stage of a tournament, first set by Mark Calcavecchia in the second and third rounds of the Phoenix Open in 2001 and then tied by Perez.
The amazing two-day performance included 16 birdies and 20 pars. He narrowly missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Friday that would have given him a share of the course record and allowed him to hold the 36-hole tour scoring record by himself.
Toms has followed up his second-place finish at last week's Players Championship, where he birdied the final hole to force a playoff and then lost on the first hole of sudden death to K.J. Choi. Toms, 44, a one-time major championship winner, has not had a victory on the tour since the 2006 Sony Open.
Steven Bowditch, Jon Senden, Charlie Wi and two-time 2011 winner Mark Wilson were tied for second at 9-under 131. Rickie Fowler, seeking his first PGA Tour victory, was in a tie for sixth at 132.
A severe thunderstorm moved through the area during the afternoon, forcing a delay of 2 hours, 24 minutes. Toms was 4-under for his round at the time and had hit his tee shot at the par-5 11th. He went on to make two more birdies the rest of the way.
The entire field was able to complete play before dark. It took a score of 1-under 139 to make the cut and among those missing it were John Daly, Angel Cabrera, David Duval and Vijay Singh.
Fired Notre Dame coach paid $6.6 million
SOUTH BEND, Ind., May 20 (UPI) -- Notre Dame paid former football coach Charlie Weis $6.6 million when it fired him in 2009 and will continue paying him through 2015, officials said.
The Chicago Tribune reported Friday it obtained federal tax documents that indicate Weis will be given smaller payments through December 2015.
The newspaper said it got the information from Form 990, which the school must submit to the Internal Revenue Service.
"Termination payment of $6,638,403 was made during the reporting period to Charles J. Weis under a separation agreement that includes much smaller annual payments through December, 2015," a section for "supplemental information" in the forms said.
Weis was fired in November 2009, amassing a 35-27 record in five seasons as coach. He earned Bowl Championship Series bids in his first two seasons at Notre Dame, but his record fell to 16-21 over the final three years.
Between his standard compensation as coach until his firing and the "termination payment," Weis is listed as earning nearly $7.3 million from July 2009 through June 2010.
Hamilton surrenders Olympic gold medal
NEW YORK, May 20 (UPI) -- Cycling champion Tyler Hamilton has surrendered the gold medal he won in the 2004 Athens Olympics, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said it now has Hamilton's medal, The Wall Street Journal reported. Officials said they will work with the U.S. and International Olympic committees to investigate Hamilton's charge that Lance Armstrong used banned drugs to enhance his performance and his own admission that he used them.
Chris Manderson, Hamilton's lawyer, said his client gave up the medal so it would not become a distraction. Hamilton has not admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during the Olympics but said in an interview to be broadcast on the CBS show "60 Minutes" that he used them at other times in his career.
Hamilton was with the U.S. Postal Service cycling team from 1995 to 2001, while Armstrong rode with the team from 1998 to 2005. Armstrong, through a lawyer, denies Hamilton's charges.
Mets open interleague play by downing Yankees
NEW YORK, May 20 (UPI) -- Daniel Murphy hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth Friday and the New York Mets got three perfect relief innings to defeat the New York Yankees 2-1.
R.A. Dickey (2-5) gave up a third-inning home run to Mark Teixeira, but then shut down the Yankees on four hits with six strikeouts over six innings.
Mike O'Connor, Jason Isringhausen and Francisco Rodriguez then combined to retire all nine men they faced while striking out five. Rodriguez collected his 15th save.
Rookie third baseman Justin Turner delivered an RBI double in the fourth and Murphy put the Mets in front with his fourth homer of the season leading off the sixth. Turner had three hits in helping the Mets win their third straight. They have given up just one run in those three victories.
Both runs for the Mets came against Freddy Garcia (2-4), who gave up five hits over seven innings.
The Yankees had won their previous three games after losing six in a row.
