Toms shoots 8-under 63 for a one-stroke lead

&#151; -- MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- David Toms should never, ever miss playing a round at the TPC at Southwind. Toms turned in his best round this year with an 8-under 63 that helped the defending champion lead Vaughn Taylor by a stroke after the second round of the St. Jude Classic on Friday. The defending St. Jude champion carded six birdies and an eagle for his 10th straight round in the 60s here and a 12-under 130. "It seems the more I've played this tournament, the better I've played. The last few years it's been good to me," Toms said. At No. 16 in the world, Toms is the highest ranked player in this event, and he isn't willing to give all the credit to the course. He missed three of his first four cuts here but finished fourth in 2002 and went 20 under last year. "My golf game's gotten better over the last few years. That probably has a lot to do with it at as well," Toms said. Taylor, who had never led a round in a PGA Tour event before Thursday, did his best to keep pace with a bogey-free 65. He will play with Toms in the final group Saturday, a first he spent Friday trying to prepare for mentally by looking at his name on the leaderboards. "I like seeing my name up there," said Taylor, who earned his card by finishing 11th on the Nationwide Tour in 2003. "I'm trying to get used to it, so when I do see it up there it's not a shock to me." Ben Crane was third, five strokes back, after a 65 followed by a four-way tie at 136 with John Daly (65), Tim Herron (64), Paul Stankowski (69) and Ted Purdy (64). A total of 74 golfers made the cut at 1 over. Daly, who needs a strong finish here to earn an exemption to the U.S. Open, bogeyed his final hole when he tried to putt between two sprinkler heads on No. 9. "It would be great to have a chance. I've got to shoot 7- or 8-under par on Saturday. I don't know if I'll catch Toms or not, but it'll be close anyway. The scores will be low over the weekend," said Daly, who used to own a house on this course. "David gets it going like he's going, he's tough to beat." Rain early Friday morning softened a course that yielded only eight scores below 70 on Thursday. Wind that gusted to 25 mph in the first round calmed down, and the skies cleared by afternoon leaving almost perfect scoring conditions when Toms teed off. Starting a stroke behind Taylor, Toms quickly made his move. He birdied his second hole and took the lead by himself after sticking a 3-iron 2 feet from the hole for eagle on the par-5 No. 3. He padded his lead with birdies on Nos. 5 and 6 and made the turn at 9 under. After five straight pars that allowed Taylor to get within a stroke, Toms responded with three more birdies on his final seven holes. Toms hit a pitching wedge to 12 feet on No. 12, hit over the green on the par-5 No. 16 but chipped to 6 feet for birdie and finished with a 7-iron to 5 feet on No. 18. This kind of performance is exactly what Toms needed as he tries to play his way back into shape after surgery to remove bone chips from his left wrist last December. He tied for fifth at Doral but missed six cuts in 11 events this year. His best finish in the past month was a tie for 34th at New Orleans, and this is his fifth straight event. Making his round easier was Bob Estes, the 2001 champion here who had four birdies on the front nine and rebounded from a bogey and triple bogey to start the back nine with seven consecutive birdies for a 64. "We fed off each other the whole time and had a good day," Toms said. Fred Funk did his part to cheer Toms on, showing him a set of pompoms in the fitness van before their round started. He pulled them out after Toms' eagle and again on No. 18. "He made sure the crowd knew he was on my side I guess," Toms said.< ^Divots:@ Estes' birdie streak matched Vijay Singh's streak of seven birdies at the Mercedes Championships for the longest such run on tour this year. ... Jim Carter had a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 8 with a 7-iron from 147 yards. ... Russ Cochran, who shot an opening 74, withdrew before the second round because of a back injury. ... Len Mattiace, who won here in 2002, was among those missing the cut along with local favorite David Gossett.