Charlotte, N.C. ? David Toms did everything so well for 71 holes that he could have made a quintuple-bogey 9 on the last hole Sunday and still won the Wachovia Championship.

He made an 8.

In a sloppy finish to an otherwise spectacular week, Toms won for the first time in nearly 20 months, raising his arms in mock triumph after turning the 18th hole at Quail Hollow into a mockery.

He drove right into the trees, left into a hazard just short of the creek, laid up short of the green, then took four putts to get down from 45 feet.

Toms didn’t look anything like the guy who dominated a tough golf course, taking a five-shot lead into the final round and never letting anyone get closer than three strokes until the very end.

The bottom line was his 10-under 278, good enough for a two-stroke victory over Vijay Singh (68), Robert Gamez (70) and Brent Geiberger (69).

Toms had not won since the Michelob Championship in October 2001, toward the end of a breakthrough year in which he won three times, including the PGA Championship.

He has been grinding ever since, frustrated by 11 finishes in the top five in his last 41 tournaments.