Hybrids help Goydos with Liberty National's length

text size

Aug. 27, 2009
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- The result was a pair of two-putt pars.

But the rescue clubs Paul Goydos hit into the 10th and 11th holes on Thursday during the first round of The Barclays were as big as any of his seven birdie putts.

Those confidence-builders on Goydos' first two holes at Liberty National helped propel the veteran into a share of the lead at 6 under. He's tied with Steve Marino after their 65s set the pace in the morning wave in the first event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

The Live Report: Round 1
Leaderboard: First round

At 7,400 yards, settled over a landfill and overlooking the Manhattan skyline, Liberty National isn't necessarily a course on which Goydos would expect to prosper. He ranks 189th in driving distance, after all, with an average of just 276.3 yards.

Goydos calls No. 10 a "brutal" par 4 at 489 yards, the longest on the course, while the 11th is a challenging 250-yard par 3. The back nine moderates a tad -- even offering up a driveable par 4 at the 16th -- but it's certainly a difficult start.

So when Goydos was able to unleash a rescue club from 232 yards out to within 22 feet, and another at the par 3 that landed 41 feet away from the pin, he was feeling pretty good about the day.

"To me, that's almost like two birdies starting out in a sense," he said. "... If I can hit those two shots, I pretty much can hit the 7 iron on 1 and it just gets me in a good frame of mind.

"My golf swing is good. I think playing two of the tougher holes on the golf course -- I played them about as well as I can play them. In a sense, it gives you a level of comfort there."

And make no mistake, the birdies would come.

Goydos started with a 10-footer at the par-5 13th, then embarked on a stretch of six holes, beginning at the 16th, that saw him make five more birdies. His putts during that streak came from 6, 15, 4, 7 and 12 feet.

The lone blemish on Goydos' scorecard came at the seventh hole, a 484-yard par 4 where his drive strayed left, and he had to wedge back into the fairway. He bounced back, though, with a 3-footer on the par-5 eighth to grab the clubhouse lead.

Asked to describe his round, Goydos chose the word "surprising." But he hit 11 fairways and as many greens, and his putter was extremely cooperative. Goydos one-putted 13 times and used just 23 total.

"I think the morning round is going to play easier, a lot softer and a lot more moisture on the greens," Goydos said. "The greens were basically perfect today. ... I think the golf course will be a much different golf course in the afternoon.

"But I think in theory, you have 125 of the best players on the PGA TOUR here this week, someone is going to shoot a low round every day. Today was my chance, but you know, four 65s is going to win by an awful lot; that's like a Tiger win, or a Brian Gay win.

"I had my good round today. I'm happy with that, but my expectations, it's a golf course where I think anything around par actually is a pretty good score I think. Today was more of a bonus."

The affable Californian entered The Barclays ranked No. 49 in the FedExCup standings, a virtual lock to play next week at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He's well aware of the prize at the end, but he's not one to calculate all the different permutations.

Goydos, who has one second and a third already this season, knows a player gets 2,500 points for a win at the Playoffs. Goydos also knows he wouldn't catch Tiger Woods even if he did hoist the trophy on Sunday.

So he's just focused on one thing.

"I've been out here long enough, I'm just trying to play golf," Goydos said. "My attitude this week, and has been really the last two months, be rested and be mentally ready to play golf on Thursday and see what happens. More like how I play at home with my friends.

"I think the game, there's going to be as close to somewhere between 4,500 and 5,000 starts on the PGA TOUR and there's going to be 42 people win or 46 people who win. Winning is a fickle thing sometimes.

"My goal is to play the best I can, and to be honest, today I didn't see much better than the 65 I had today, so today is a good day. I go out and do my work, try to play as well as I can tomorrow. Those kind of goals, I think in the back of your mind the one you have is to be in the top five standing on the first tee at (East Lake)."