Location: TPC Deere Run
Silvis, IL
Par Yardage: 35-36 = 71
3553/3704 = 7257
Goydos, 46, averages 268 from the tee.
He hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 greens in regulation.
Putter was on fire with just 22 putts, making seven of them from beyond 10 feet, including one from 39 feet, 4 inches and another from 24 feet, 7 inches.
He became the fourth player in PGA TOUR history to shoot 59 after a birdie on the 18th hole at TPC Deere Run, where he closed out the back in 29 with eight birdies in nine holes.
The last player to shoot 59 was David Duval in the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Classic.
Four players in all have now shot 59 in a TOUR event: Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and Duval (1999).
Thank goodness mothers kept scrapbooks so when you turn 46, you can say… “yeah, I used to beat that guy” when someone like Goydos shoots 59!
I think that’s the point of the scrapbook…?
Actually Paul and I grew up playing against one another when we were like 9 year olds in the Southern California Junior Golf Association. I’m sure I have
a picture of us when we were kids holding trophies that were bigger than we were at the time…
This Martin Hall and I roomed together for a few months on the Canadian Tour after we both got through the Tour School in 87. We flew to NY, bought a used green Mercury Cougar, loaded it up with suitcases and clubs, and my caddie who was a college friend, and hit the road… Being from California, and the first tournament in Toronto, we figured it better to buy a car in the US, then drive it across the border at Niagra Falls into Canada, then work our way back west over the months to come, finishing up in Vancouver. We then drove the car to Seattle, and sold it there to a used car lot for just a few bucks less than we paid for it in NY.
It was pretty rough going in the beginning… but we were just so excited to be on tour, feeling the life of all these amazing cities like Montreal, and Victoria,
and just being young and full of dreams and ambition. It was a great time…
I just found this picture of the car breaking down on our way to the Quebec Open. Not meaning to hijack the thread here, but the name Martin Hall coming up
and stumbling across this photo was nothing but good timing. I have always been pretty good at fixing mechanical things!
I might start a “life on the road” thread in the birdies and bogeys section at some point, as I have some really hilarious pictures from the rouge traveling days, including a 300 pound circus cougar that walked into my room while we were staying in a roadside motel next to the circus animals. I was taking a nap in the afternoon and had the front door open because there was no AC, and I woke to this giant cat on my bed… pretty frighteningly unbelievable… as the cat was staying next door with it’s own room… apparently unattended for a while and found it’s way over to my place. I have a picture somewhere.
This really goes to show the power of putting, because I can assure you, one could strike the ball exactly the same and walk off the course with a 73.
At the same time… a player is not going to shoot 59 by hitting 10 greens, and scrambling the rest of the round to make pars.
It’s also interesting that Paul is one of the shorter hitters out there… so again, this really gives credit to accurate striking.
The shorter hitters really have to be a bit more tuned in with their wedges and short games in general due to necessity or what some would see as an apparent disadvantage. The extra attention to detail around the greens to make up for the lack of ability to overpower the golf course might very well be why we see 59’s being shot not by the longest hitters, but by the guys with the best short games… because ultimately you have to get the ball into the hole on the greens with the flat stick to shoot those kind of scores.
