Goydos shoots 59 at John Deere Classic
Paul Goydos leads the John Deere Classic after the first round, the American topping the leaderboard in style after carding only the fourth 59 in the history of the PGA Tour. Yet Goydos finished the day only a stroke ahead of world No. 4 Steve Stricker.
Goydos came home 12-under-par, having shot a dozen birdies at TPC Deere Run yesterday. In making the historic score, Goydos matched David Duval, who made 59 at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic, Chip Beck who did so in 1991 and Al Geiberger who made the record low in 1977.
No player has ever gone lower than 59 on the PGA Tour, although earlier this year 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa stunned golf fans worldwide after posting a 58 at the Crowns Championship on the Japanese Tour.
Goydos was as surprised as anyone at the score, commenting afterwards: "It came upon me quick. I don't have any idea [how I did it]. You would be hard-pressed to say anyone sees this type of round coming."
It's not like Goydos has been in good form of late; the Californian's recent record shows three missed cuts and a withdrawal in his last five tournaments. Over his career he's not really come close to winning a major, his best finish being a tie for 12th at the US Open. And at 46 years old, the player would hardly seem likely to be about to begin playing the greatest golf of his career. But there it is; part of sport's beauty is its unpredictability.
Second placed Stricker followed a similar pattern to Goydos, but crucially with one less birdie. The 43-year-old is no stranger to low scoring at this course, having made a record 10-under-par 61 here last year, and he was the only player close to keeping up with Goydos yesterday, with Michael Letzig, Matt Jones, Aaron Baddeley and James Nitties all tied for third place on seven-under.
The highest-placed European was Sweden's Daniel Chopra, on six-under, while the highest placed Brit was England's Brian Davis, tied for 34th place on three-under. But another Englishman, Greg Owen, was disqualified after his marker failed to sign his scorecard.
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