One-On-One With Paul Goydos

20 years ago this week, Paul Goydos earned his first win on the PGA Tour at the what was then called the Bay Hill Invitational. He beat Jeff Maggert by one shot to finish the week at 13-under 275. With this week being this year’s edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, I had a chance to talk with Goydos about the 20th anniversary of his inaugural win, being one of the few golfers to shoot 59 on Tour, how he got into golf, his favorite courses to play, and his bucket list of courses.

Take me back to that week 20 years ago. What do you remember from that week at Bay Hill and the win?

“I want to say that at the beginning of that year that I wasn’t even eligible. I had to play pretty well on the west coast just to get a spot since it was just the top 70 on the money list. I think I barely even got in. This was before World Golf Championships, so it was one of the biggest events in the world outside the majors on Tour. I remember the weather was good and I played exceptionally well. If you look back at my first five years on Tour, that week stood out to me because of how well I played. I remember part of the reason why, was because I thought it was a really cool place to be.”

What was it like standing there on the 18th green and having Arnold Palmer present you a trophy?

“You look back at your career and I haven’t won that much and it’s probably the highlight of my career. Winning his event and standing on the 18th green and one of the sponsors of the event was Hertz and I was in a relationship with Hertz too. It was probably the highlight of my career.”

Did it creep into your mind at all down the stretch that you were going to win Arnold Palmer’s event?

“Not really, I got lucky there. I played good the first day and then struggled and then I played good on Saturday and then on the 11th tee on Sunday I saw I was tied for the lead. Part of winning is being in that place where you aren’t thinking about the future or past and just staying in the present and I was doing a very good job of staying in the present, even when I saw I had a three shot lead with four to play. When you hit 17 and 18 at Bay Hill, the tournament isn’t over. Bad things can happen on those two holes. I was pretty good at staying in the present and keeping my focus on what I needed to do.”

Where would you put your win at Bay Hill on your list of career achievements?

“It’s the best thing I probably did. It was one of the top 10 fields in the world that year. Back then, it was almost the equivalent of winning a World Golf Championship. So without question that was probably the best thing I’ve done in my career. Even today, it’s still a top 10 event on tour behind the four majors and the four World Golf Championship events. Arnold deserves that, he’s called the ‘King’, he’s not called the ‘pretty good guy’. It’s one of the biggest events in the world without question and people come from all over the world to play.”

How did you get started in golf?

“I played baseball as a kid and got hit one too many times and my dad had golf clubs in the garage. He didn’t play, but he had clubs in the garage I think from when he was in the military. I started hitting plastic balls around the neighborhood and my dad took me to the driving range. I think there’s a certain personality you need to have. You need to be ok with being alone. It’s a sport where you need to be able to play by yourself and practice by yourself. When I started playing golf full time you had to play with adults. It wasn’t like I was hanging out with my friends and playing golf. I would go to the golf course by myself and play with four or five strangers that were adults. You have to be ok with being alone and I was ok with that and I kept going with it. I played in high school and college and slowly worked my way through the mini tours. I never really set a goal of becoming a Tour player, just to be a better player each year. Luckily, so far, it’s worked out pretty good.”

What’s your favorite golf memory?

“In 2010 I shot a 59 at the John Deere. I think there are only six of us that have shot a 59 on Tour and that was pretty cool. I was stunned though at how big of a deal it really was with all the media stuff. I was doing media stuff for the next seven or eight hours straight. It was a massively big deal. Looking back, more people have walked on the moon then shot a 59 on the PGA Tour. I look back and I still think winning Arnold’s event was probably the best thing I’ve done in my career, but for one day, that was a pretty cool thing.”

What was it like for you to shoot a 59? At any point during the round did you start thinking about it?

“I shot 4-under on the front and 8-under on the back. I was 9-under after 14 and I parred the 15th so I had three holes left and I needed to birdie all three to shoot 59 and walking from the 15th green to the 16th tee I thought, hey you have a chance to do something pretty cool and really rare and this isn’t the time to back down, it’s time to go forward. When I got to the 16th tee though I was able to kind of stay in the present and birdied the last three holes. Each hole I played a little bit better. At 16 I made a really long putt for birdie, at 17 I hit three really good shots, at 18 I hit a good driver and a good 7-iron to make the 59. What was cool was that I got in that situation and was able to execute. To get yourself in a situation like that and then to execute on the final three holes was one of the coolest things that has happened in my career. It would have been even cooler had I won the tournament, but it was one of those days where everything went well and I did a good job handling it all.”

Do you have a favorite course that you have played?

“Last year I went to Scotland and I got to play four days in a row at Muirfield, Royal Liverpool, Royal Lytham, and Royal Birkdale. It was a pretty cool four days with my friends and a wonderful experience. I’ve played Pine Valley which is probably the best golf course I’ve ever played. I think as professional golfers we might get a little spoiled and not appreciate the things they get to do, like play Pebble Beach twice a year. They just announced that the 2018 Senior British Open will be at the Old Course and I got to play the Old Course at the 2010 British Open. There really isn’t a better place to play a tournament. It might not be the best golf course in the world, but it’s definitely the best tournament venue in the world.”

Is there a course, or courses, on your bucket list that you still want to play?

“I haven’t played Royal Melbourne in Australia and I’d like to get down there and play it one time. I had a chance to play Seminole and I didn’t right after the Allianz this year. The weather wasn’t good and I wasn’t feeling good about my game. I’m not going to complain too much about where I haven’t played though. I’m blessed to have been able to play where I have played.”

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About Dan Hauser

As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.

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