He’ll always have Deere Run.
It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like Pebble Beach or quicken the pulse like Augusta, but Paul Goydos won’t be taking many peaks inside the mouth of this gift-horse.
In a round that seemed as if he were saving strokes for later, Goydos fired a 59 in the first stanza of the John Deere Classic on Thursday and joined three others who’ve lifted the lid on 60 in a competitive PGA Tour round.
OK, so the quartet won’t be making any Hall of Fame speeches, but Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods can’t say what Goydos and his pals Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval can.
They’ve all got 59s in their bags — golf’s very own magic number.
A round of 59 eluded Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer in their illustrious careers. Photo by Keith Allison
Geiberger shot his in Memphis in 1977 while Las Vegas cashed in for Beck in 1991. Duval’s might prove the most notable as it came in the final round of the Bob Hope Classic in 1999 and provided the margin of his one-stroke victory.
Unlike Goydos, the previous three came on par-72 courses. Nonetheless, it is the figure that counts — no par or birdie, just the number.
59.
It hovers there not unlike hitting. 400 in baseball or dropping 100 points individually in basketball or bowling a 300 game. Tennis has the golden set (not allowing a point) and there are the six sixes in cricket (six balls clearing the boundary on six straight deliveries).
All contain a veil of mystery, a moment that is embraced but never held. An image that is seen but that which fades.
Golf’s magic number is less a plateau than a barrier, more akin to Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile mark in 1954. We’ve been to the other side, but where the mile time was subsequently lowered, the 59 has held.
We’ve seen, too, that it amounts to mostly a statistical anomaly, far less a predictor of future performance and more a curious diversion.
But it just doesn’t happen all that often and when it does you want to gaze at it like a solar eclipse — be fascinated by the possibility as the round unfolds and with rare exception, dissolves harmlessly like so many forgotten sunsets.
And it’s not like the game’s best haven’t posted low scores in their careers; but keeping the tumbler from clicking into the 60s has proved elusive.
Nicklaus’ career low in a tour round was 63, so is Tom Watson’s. Palmer wrote 62 on his card once and three times has Woods whittled his number to 61.
Even Steve Stricker, the defending champion of the tournament they once called the Quad Cities Open, could only walk away with a 60 on Thursday.
Goydos has them all beat and it couldn’t come at a much better time, seeing that he’s got seven missed cuts and a withdrawal in 18 tour events this year.
The 46-year-old had seemingly set his season on course early with a pair of top-10 finishes in California, but it all derailed quickly with a nine on the 14th hole during the final round at the AT&T in Pebble Beach.
That quadruple bogey in February couldn’t be in greater contrast with his July morning stroll in Silvis, Illinois.
Goydos hit 18 tee shots Thursday and needed a mere 22 putts. That leaves only 19 more strokes of the golf club over an entire round. You might need that many at a pitch and putt.
He made no bogeys and did not have an eagle. Nor did Goydos tart up his card with a hole in one.
There were 12 birdies for Goydos at the par-71 TPC course, with eight of those coming on the back nine.
That’s right, a par at the 15th kept Goydos from dusting off a spot for a new low with a 58. (Noted, Ryo Ishikawa shot 58 this year to win in Japan, but we’re affixing an asterisk to that.)
It was a ball-striking clinic made easy by the rain-softened golf course and greens as receptive as thirsty co-eds on spring break. The difference for Goydos was he and others were able to lift, clean and replace.
Goydos also proved to be a proficient finisher by making all five of his putts between 11-20 feet and missing only one of seven inside 10.
A second straight 59 would have very well summoned the ghost of Johnny Vander Meer, who pitched consecutive no-hitters for the Reds in June of 1938.
Goydos required nine additional strokes Friday and settled for a second round 68.
A victory would be his first since the 2007 Sony Open and just his third on tour. Even better, it would get him into the British Open an event he’s played in twice.
Whatever numbers he makes on future scorcards, though, he has one indelible mark.
59.
Mike Scarr is the editor of Golflink.com. He can be reached at golflinkeditor@demandmedia.com.
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