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Toms defends title at Kingsmill

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- David Toms seeks his second straight win at the Kingsmill Resort's River Course and his third this season when the Michelob Championship gets underway Thursday.

The field for the 34th Michelob Championship includes five United States Ryder Cup team members -- Toms, David Duval, Jim Furyk, Paul Azinger and Scott Hoch.

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While Duval has won twice at Kingsmill, Toms is the defending champion, having defeated Canadian Mike Weir on the first playoff hole last year.

Toms, who is ranked ninth in the world, continued his winning ways this year at the Compaq Classic and added a dramatic victory at the PGA Championship to his resume.

At the final major of the season, Toms made a memorable par putt on the 72nd hole to edge Phil Mickelson by a shot and guarantee himself a berth on the Ryder Cup team.

Toms did not get a chance to compete in the international event, which was postponed a year in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

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Duval, the third-ranked player in the world, is back in action for the first time since late August. He still is riding the high of his first career major title, earned at the British Open in July.

A 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, Duval claimed this event in 1997 and 1998, becoming only the third player to win it in consecutive years. Calvin Peete (1982-83) and Johnny Miller (1974-75) are the others.

Hoch holds the tournament scoring record at 19-under 265 in 1996 -- the year Michelob took over sponsorship from Anheiser-Busch. Kingsmill has hosted the event each year since 1981.

While there are a number of elite tour members on hand, a handful of others will try to get closer to a berth in the Tour Championship or earn money to retain their tour card.

This is one of four events remaining before the Tour Championship, which invites the top 30 players on the money list. There are five tournaments remaining in the season.

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