Say What: Paul Goydos

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Paul Goydos missed the cut by a single shot at the AT&T Classic.

A week after losing to Sergio Garcia in a playoff at THE PLAYERS Championship, Paul Goydos was back on TOUR, at the AT&T Classic in Duluth, Ga. Although Goydos missed the cut by one stroke, he stuck around the Atlanta suburb on the weekend to appear on CBS Sports' telecast of the tournament Saturday afternoon. While killing time and signing a few autographs ? he wrote "Find Land" on a photo in Golf World of him hitting his 17th-hole tee shot in the playoff at TPC Sawgrass ? Goydos visited with Laury Livsey of the PGA TOUR's communications staff to talk about, among other things, his now-famous Long Beach State hat and his "encounter" with Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen. Goydos plays again this week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

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Goydos reads a putt on the vaunted 17th hole during THE PLAYERS.

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What's the strangest place you've been recognized?

I don't ever remember being recognized. I mean, besides the grocery store in Long Beach? That happens. But other places? I doubt my kids recognize me.

What's your favorite restaurant?

If I had one place to go to eat, and this is sacrilegious to all the Long Beach people, but Super Mex in Belmont Shore.

Tell me something about Long Beach that people don't know.

I think it's the largest small town in America, a city where the people have an unbelievable amount of pride. They're Long Beach people. We talk about somebody being a Long Beach guy. You'd never hear that about L.A., and Long Beach has 500,000 people.

So what about Long Beach, N.Y.?

A fraud. Ridiculous. Come on. We have a long beach. We're the real Long Beach.

What's the nationality of Goydos?

Czech, with the spelling changed at Ellis Island. There are some in my family who got the spelling "Goydos" and others who are spelled "Gaydos." But it's the same family.

What's the first autograph you got as a kid?

Sandy Alomar. It's the only autograph I ever got. He signed my mitt. It was at Anaheim Stadium at an Angels game in, I want to say, probably '73 or '74. That was the team that featured Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana.

What kind of mitt?

I was a second baseman in Little League. It was an infielder's glove, but I couldn't tell you the brand. And, no, I don't know where the glove is now. I don't have it.

If you were to take batting practice today with the Angels, how would you do?

I think I could hit it at 70 (mph). But if they threw the real stuff, I don't think I could stand in there.

What's more scary, facing an in-his-prime, Nolan Ryan 95-mile-an-hour fastball or standing on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass in 30 mph wind?

A Ryan fastball.

Where did you go on your first date as a teenager?

I went to the drive-in. Remember drive-ins? You know, drive-ins? Remember those?

What was the movie?

No idea. I don't even remember the girl.

What kind of car? Certainly you remember that.

Yeah, I do. I borrowed my brother's Toyota. It might have been a Celica.

You have a free night, and you can watch one DVD. What is it?

Free night? One movie? Boy, that's a tough one. I'm going to say "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." That's a great movie. There are more great lines in that movie than any other. I was just watching the end of "Life of Brian," another great one, when they're being crucified, and they're all singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." There's just nothing funnier than those movies.

How many Long Beach hats do you own?

Just this one. It was soaked yesterday (during a rainstorm at the AT&T Classic). So I threw that and my rain pants in the dryer. We're going to auction it off for the Jewels of the Night fundraiser at Long Beach State. The fundraiser is [May 17], but I'm going to wear the hat at Colonial. Another auction item is a two-day golf outing for eight at Lake Arrowhead that I'm going on with Dan Monson, (Long Beach) State's basketball coach.

Did you ever meet the legendary George Allen?

This is a great story. Long Beach State had a driving range that the football team wanted to use to practice on when George Allen got there for his one year as coach. I'm on the golf team, so one day I was out there hitting and shagging balls, and he yells, 'Get that golfer off my football field.' I never met the man, but let's just say he definitely knew who I was.

Editor's Note: Paul Goydos' Long Beach State hat sold for $4,000 at the Jewels of the Night fundraiser.