FARMINGTON, Pa. - One of Shaun Micheel's best rounds since he won the 2003 PGA championship suddenly became secondary in importance. He kept on playing, and mostly playing well at the 84 Lumber Classic, but his mind was on a stricken David Toms.

Toms, the 2001 PGA champion and No. 4 on the PGA Tour money list, became white-faced, dropped to his knee in discomfort and was rushed to a hospital with a heart problem during Thursday's first round.

Toms initially was listed in critical condition upon admission to Pittsburgh's UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, but was upgraded to good later in the evening, according to hospital administrator Dolores Stairs. Adam Young, the director of Toms' foundation, said Toms was alert and speaking with his family, and Toms issued a statement late Thursday night saying he had a treatable heart problem.

"I have an issue with my heart, but it won't be a life-threatening situation," Toms said in a statement issued by the PGA Tour. "I am staying overnight in the hospital to get some further evaluation and tests done. The doctors will then give me some options on how to treat this issue.

"I appreciate all the people that helped me today, as well as the concern shown by everyone associated with the tournament."

Scares like this aren't common on the PGA Tour, even if the LPGA Tour's Meg Mallon had a similar problem on Sunday. So, mere minutes after Micheel and Toms had a lengthy conversation about the upcoming duck hunting season, Micheel's thoughts and emotions weren't entirely on golf.

"It shook me up. He went down to his knee, got up and walked a few steps and then went back to his knee," said Micheel, who was playing in a threesome with Toms and Jerry Kelly. "When an ambulance backs up to the first tee, it tells you it's a little more serious."

Immediately after Toms was stricken on No. 1 - the group began the round on No. 10 - Micheel reeled off three consecutive birdies, then followed with his second eagle of the day, on the par-5 No. 5, and another birdie on the par-4 No. 6 to get to 10 under.

But a potentially great round became merely a very good one when Micheel bogeyed the final three holes at the 7,516-yard Mystic Rock course to finish at 7-under 65 along two other golfers having relatively poor years, Mark O'Meara and Charlie Wi, and Jason Gore, who's back on the tour after winning three consecutive Nationwide Tour events earlier this summer.

"Much like the PGA championship in 2003, I bogeyed the final three holes on Saturday and I fared pretty well, so that won't stay with me for long," Micheel said of his poor and possibly distracted finish.

The image of Toms being rushed off the course in an ambulance will stay with him.

Toms was first taken to the nearby Uniontown Hospital, but tournament founder Joe Hardy immediately arranged to have a helicopter rush Toms to Pittsburgh.

"I asked him if he wanted a drink of water, and he just said his chest was hurting and his heart was racing," Micheel said. "I'm not a doctor ... but that's generally not a good sign. He just turned real white, just didn't have color in his face."

Gore is trying to transfer the success he had on the Nationwide Tour back to the PGA Tour, where he played previously before losing his card in 2003. He also made a run at the U.S. Open this year, playing in the final group of the day Sunday before fading to an 84.

"It was a great learning experience, and I took that learning experience back to the Nationwide Tour and had a little bit of success," Gore said.

None of the leaders had done much of anything this year, other than Gore's minor league run, to suggest they might share the lead - despite having two former major winners in the group in O'Meara and Micheel. None ranks higher on the money list than Micheel's No. 155.

O'Meara is nearing 50 and finds himself looking ahead to the Champions Tour, yet had what he called "by far the best putting round I've had in a couple of years."

Defending champion Vijay Singh, playing on the course where his statue was erected following his 84 Lumber win a year ago, is tied for 53rd place in a large group at 72. Phil Mickelson, second on the money list and playing the tournament for the first time, is in danger of missing the cut following an opening-round 73.