Complete coverage: Goydos ties TOUR record in shooting 59

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Paul Goydos holds up the ball he used in finishing up his record-tying 59 in Thursday's first round.

SILVIS, Ill. -- Most golfers are thrilled when they shoot their age. Paul Goydos, who stands 5-foot-9, made history Thursday in the first round of the John Deere Classic when he shot his height.

"I'm glad I'm not 6-6," he said.

More on Goydos' 59

WATCH THE FINAL PUTT: Paul Goydos drains a 7-footer on 18th green to secure his place in PGA TOUR history. Click here LISTEN TO THE CALL: The PGA TOUR Network's Bob Stevens calls the final birdie putt. Goydos also discusses his round with Stevens. Click here WACKER COLUMN: PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker writes than no one could have seen this coming -- even the man who shot it. Click here HIGHLIGHTS: PGATOUR.COM's On The Tee crew has all the highlights and analysis on the 59. Click here BY THE NUMBERS: Goydos achieved several career bests, according to ShotLink. Click here HOLE BY HOLE: Commentary from Goydos on every hole of his round. Click here TRANSCRIPT: Goydos discusses his 59 during his post-round interview with the media. Click here THE 59 CLUB: Which players preceded Goydos into The 59 Club? Here's a list, along with the details of their rounds. Click here LIVE REPORT: Every news and note about Goydos during Thursday's round. Click here BIRDIE BREAKDOWN: A detailed look at each of the 12 birdies in Goydos' round. Click here SCORECARD: Check out what a 59 looks like. Click here SHOT TRACKER: All the details on Goydos' 59. Click here PHOTO GALLERY: Images from Thursday's PGA TOUR record-tying round. Click here ALMOST ANOTHER 59: On the day Goydos shot 59, Steve Stricker nearly caught him. Click here ROUND 1 WRAP-UP: Paul Goydos took the first-round lead at TPC Deere Run, but several others are close to the top. Click here

Indeed, in shooting a 12-under 59, Goydos became just the fourth golfer in PGA TOUR history to post that magical number.

"I'm stunned," said Goydos, a two-time TOUR winner whose biggest moment in the spotlight came when he lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia at the 2008 PLAYERS Championship.

"I'm known as a guy who finished second. Now I'll be known for a guy who shot 59."

Goydos put together his 12-under, bogey-free round on the opening day of the John Deere Classic. He made the turn at 4-under, then birdied all but one hole on the back nine at the 7,257-yard TPC Deere Run course, capping Thursday's sizzling round by knocking in a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

He raised his club in triumph and accepted high-fives on the way to the clubhouse.

"It's almost a mythical number in our game," said Goydos, a 46-year-old pro from Dove Canyon, Calif. "I've gone from clubbing a ball in the backyard all the way to the moon, and missed all the steps in between."

It's the first 59 on the PGA TOUR since David Duval went that low in a memorable final round at the 1999 Bob Hope Classic. The other 59s were by Al Geiberger in 1977 and Chip Beck in 1991.

The crowd grew steadily as Goydos' score kept dropping. Even fellow players Notah Begay and J.J. Henry dropped by to watch his attempt to make history.

The final putt was like most of the others Goydos rolled in with his cross-handed grip -- right in the middle of the cup.

"Standing over that last putt, I was probably as nervous as I've ever been over a putt in my life," he said. "The putt would have gone in thimble."

Goydos becomes the oldest player to shoot 59, and also the first one to do it in the first round of an event.

On greens softened by three days of intermittent rain, Goydos drained putts of 39 feet on par-4 No. 11 and nearly 25 feet on the par-4 13th. On No. 12, a par 3, Goydos hit his tee shot to inside 20 feet, then tapped the ball and watched it inch into the hole for yet another birdie.

"Gravity is the best friend I have," Goydos told Jonathan Byrd and Cliff Kresge, his playing partners for the magical round.

Unlike the other three members of the Mr. 59 Club, who shot their record rounds on par-72 courses, Goydos shot his on a par-71 course.

Due to storms in the Quad Cities area the day before, lift, clean and place rules were in effect, which benefitted all the golfers on Thursday. "I think it helped a lot," Goydos said.

And going off in the second group of the day, Goydos said he was able to putt on smoother greens than had he gone off later in the morning. "If I'm in the last group of the morning and the greens have gotten a little more chewed up, it's going to be harder, too," he acknowledged.

Nevertheless, it's a magical number, and well-earned for a player who has been on the PGA TOUR since 1989 and is currently ranked 137th in the world.

Goydos' 8-under 28 on the back nine matched the lowest nine-hole score in relation to par in PGA TOUR history. Corey Pavin shot an 8-under 26 in the first round of the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

Incidentally, Goydos will be an assistant to Pavin, who is captain of this year's U.S. Ryder Cup team. Asked if perhaps the 59 might lead to him playing his way onto the team, Goydos laughed and said, "I've got to find a way to shoot five or six more 59s."

Certainly he was determined to give it a go in the final three holes. Instead of feeling the pressure of making history, he realized he had an unique opportunity on Thursday and was not going to shy away from the moment.

"I kind of realized on 16 if I birdied the last three," said Goydos. "Part of the reason you play well is you aren't paying attention to your score.

"This is why you play. You don't talk to the pitcher trying to pitch a no-hitter ... knowing what you have to do is part of the fun and today I accomplished it."

Not bad for a guy who has just two top 10 finishes this year, hasn't won since the 2007 Sony Open and suffered through the embarrassment of a 9 on a hole at this year's AT&T Pebble Beach National in February.

Goydos has yet to qualify for next week's British Open, but he has a chance to get into the field if he can claim the John Deere Classic on Sunday.

After shooting 59, he's off to a great start.