Journeyman Goydos stakes an unlikely claim for glory at Players Championship

Published on Saturday 10 May 2008 23:52

THERE have been odd winners of the Players Championship before now – the likes of Jodie Mudd and Craig Perks come to mind – but none would be as unlikely Paul Goydos. As the leaders neared the turn in the third round of the PGA Tour's $9.5m flagship event, golf's so-called "fifth major", the outwardly doleful Californian was well in the hunt alongside a broad cross-section of the game's great and good.

Surely the only man in the field wearing headgear he purchased himself, Goydos, twice a winner in a 19-year professional career, is known more for his dry wit than any ability to contend at the highest level. But, more than halfway through golf's richest-ever 72-hole event, the 43-year-old was showing few signs of the encroaching pressure in the race for the $1.7m first prize. Indeed, the "LB" on his cap could just as well have stood for "lots of bottle" rather than Long Beach State University (nickname, the "Dirty Dogs"), his alma mater.

Also up there, in a break from what has long been the norm in this prestigious event, was a brace of Europeans in Sergio Garcia and Bernhard Langer. Only once, in 1987, has someone from the old world, Sandy Lyle, finished first in the new world's biggest tournament outside of the major championships. Lurking just off the pace was another European, Ian Poulter, but otherwise the board was dominated by the usual array of Uncle Sam's nephews, men like veteran Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson, new tour sensation Anthony Kim and the long-hitting slow poke that is JB Holmes.

Much earlier, however, Englishman Luke Donald's third round of 74 better summed up what has been, collectively, a disappointing European performance. In the midst of working on a clubface that tended to get a bit closed on the backswing, Donald, who revealed that the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond is not part of his 2008 schedule, has been losing too many shots to the right, a consequence of not yet fully eliminating the formerly compensatory opening of the clubface on the way down. For a man whose game is built around consistency – Tiger Woods once labelled him a "plodder" – it has been a frustrating few months.

"It has been hard to hit some shots I'm not used to hitting," he said. "I'm working hard to get better, but I must admit that I like the sound of plodding at the moment. To do that would be fun."

Speaking of which, just to show that low scores were out there for those able to survive Sawgrass' fearsome water-strewn finish as many as 13 of the first 50 starters managed to break par around the 7,215-yard course that was once a Florida swamp. One of those was the only Scot(t) in the field, Adam. That's called clutching at straws folks.