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Paul Goydos,”King of the One Liners”

by Jeff Skinner

At the final round of The Travelers Championship this past weekend two very popular players were showcased in the last pairing. Kenny Perry, who has won over legions of fans with the way he handled the Masters loss, played excellent golf to win his fourteenth PGA tournament. His playing partner, Paul Goydos, got off to a slow start on the front nine and was not able to catch Perry. However, Goydos, the King of the One Liner, still made his mark on the Travelers. Some may think the funniest part of this tournament was the “Pie in the Face of Lucas Glover” on the tee on Wednesday, but it wasn’t. Every time Paul Goydos is put in front of a microphone you can expect a couple of one liners and a few good laughs. Goydos was asked by Bob Costas when he had the 54 hole lead at The Players how he slept the night before the final round. His response, “On my back.” “Ever had a 54 hole lead before?” asked Costas. Goydos,” No, but I’ve only been on tour for sixteen years.”

Goydos did not disappoint the press during his interview after the final round when he finished second to Perry. When asked to discuss his final four holes where he went four under par he said,” We don’t want to talk about the first fourteen, though.” Comparing Perry’s final round to his round Goydos said,” He played like a guy who won, I don’t know how many times he won…fourteen, I played like a guy who’s won twice.” Goydos was realistic when he described his chance of a comeback when he eagled fifteen. “I’m still grinding it out. I did go two, two. Unfortunately, he went three, three. So you know I went two, two, three (and) I picked up two shots. Part of the equation is that he makes a mistake…Kenny was in no mood to make a mistake.”

When told that the top names on the leader board were all over forty years old Goydos deadpanned, “I wasn’t paying attention to their ages…I think Casey Wittenberg was up there too. What’s he like eight years old?” He was asked if he thought Perry put the Masters loss behind him. Goydos asked,” Masters?…I don’t even know what happened…I forgot.” Asked if it was important to get off to a fast start? He said,” No, I thought the first five holes played pretty tough…(he pulled a tee shot into a tree on hole three) That tree on three got in the way of my ball.” Sometimes his wit is so dry and subtle we miss it. Are you discouraged at all with 19 under and not winning? “Discouraged? No. I’m a bit flabbergasted, I think is a better word. But I think that’s probably the lowest 72 hole score I’ve ever shot on Tour. Two 61’s (61 & 63). I can’t remember two 60’s.” Like who wouldn’t remember two 60’s. He’s a real kidder.

It’s not like he does not offer honest and insightful answers, he does, but we can always get a few laughs from the self deprecating, self described journeyman. He is one of the biggest Tiger Woods fans on tour and tried to impress upon us how difficult it is to win on the tour. “…we sometimes look at not winning as failure, and that’s just not the case. We live in the era of Tiger Woods, who makes winning look ridiculously easy. The more I think about it, the more I feel Tiger Woods is the most underrated player on this tour. You guys have no concept of what he accomplishes on a weekly basis when he plays. It’s ridiculous how good he plays. He makes it look so easy that when somebody else like Kenny Perry, who’s won 14 times, doesn’t get close something’s wrong. That’s just normal. Palmer at The Open, the Olympic Club made a mess of the back nine. It happens to people. It just doesn’t happen to Tiger.”

Goydos played well most of the week, but did not have his “A Game” on the front nine of the final round. His golf game may come and go, but he always brings his “A+ Game” when it comes to an interview.

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