Did David Toms leap into Poppie's Pond after Galleri Classic win at Mission Hills?

The only splash David Toms made at Mission Hills Country Club was with his golf game.

After winning the inaugural Galleri Classic title on the PGA Tour Champions senior circuit, Toms answered a question some were asking: Would the winner of the senior tour event continue the LPGA tradition of jumping into Poppie's Pond at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage to celebrate a victory?

The answer was a polite no.

Even with some encouragement from those in the grandstands and even a fellow PGA Tour Champions player, Toms merely raised his hands as if to say "sorry everyone" and walked off the 18th green of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course to sign his scorecard. When he returned to the green for the trophy presentation, the idea of jumping into the lake was forgotten.

"I didn't like the color of the water," Toms joked later.

As Toms walked off the 18th green, the crowd started having some fun as a few individuals asked him to make the leap, and then in unison, the gallery started to chant "Jump! Jump!" Then a booming voice came from the front row of the grandstands. It was John Daly, also shouting "Jump! Jump!" and pointing theatrically at Poppie's Pond. Toms looked up at Daly, but did not oblige. Toms merely walked across the bridge and Daly quickly gave up his pursuit.

While a few players, including Daly, had said they would jump into the lake to continue the tradition if they won, many players during the week said the lake was not part of their plans. PGA Tour Champions officials quietly suggested to its members that the tradition should die with the departure of the LPGA from Rancho Mirage.

The lake jump began in 1988 when Amy Alcott won the Nabisco Dinah Shore and jumped into the lake with her caddie. Three years later, Alcott won again and was joined in the lake jump by tournament host Dinah Shore.

The jump into the lake then became an annual event, though eventually a separate pond within the lake, Poppie's Pond, was built to help players jump into filtered and cleaner water. The tradition continued through 2022, when Jennifer Kupcho won the LPGA event and jumped in the water. But the LPGA left Mission Hills after that tournament and the event has moved to Houston where it will be played next month.

There's no telling if a similar leap or a new tradition will start in Houston, but it's clear that the jump didn't make the leap from the LPGA event at the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills to the PGA Champions Tour event at the same course.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Galleri Classic: Did David Toms take the plunge into Poppie's Pond after win?