FARMINGTON, Pa. — David Toms took some driving range swings yesterday at the 84 Lumber Classic and said he's ready to go for this week's Presidents Cup matches despite his heart-related medical scare.

Toms, the 2001 PGA champion and an 11-time PGA Tour winner, was rushed off the course in an ambulance Thursday with a rapid heartbeat. He was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital in critical condition, but doctors brought the problem in the upper chamber of his heart under control through medication.

Toms needs corrective surgery that could last as long as six hours, but will delay it until after the United States vs. International team matches in Gainesville, Va.

"It was a scary situation," Toms said Saturday. "I really didn't know what was going on. It got obviously kind of hairy there for about 45 minutes. ... I knew right away my vitals weren't very good, and I was hurting real bad in my chest.

"At that point, they don't know if you're having a heart attack. I didn't know what was going to happen to me, really."

Toms stayed in the hospital through late Friday afternoon for a series of tests, then spent the rest of the weekend resting at the Nemacolin Woodlands resort, the 84 Lumber tournament site.

In a phone conversation Saturday with U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus, Toms said he was ready to play this week, but would hit some balls yesterday to make sure there were no aftereffects from his hospital stay.

The Associated Press