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Unlikely Leader Unfazed

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By MICK ELLIOTT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 11, 2008

Updated: 05/11/2008 12:13 am

PONTE VEDRA BEACH - So, who, you ask, is this guy Paul Goydos, the leader entering the final round of The Players Championship.

Well, he's no Sergio Garcia. Goydos makes putts.

As unfazed as he is unknown, Goydos was Saturday's mystery guest star at TPC Sawgrass, upstaging the flamboyant Garcia, and everybody else, on his way to a third-round 2-under 70 that put him one shot better than Kenny Perry and three in front of Garcia.

Goydos, 43, is ranked 169th in the world. He has two career PGA Tour wins - Bay Hill in 1996 and finally again last year in Hawaii. Since that last victory 15 months ago, there has been one top-25 finish - last week's tie for 25th.

He is wearing a Long Beach State baseball cap, a salute to his alma mater, because no sponsor has been willing to rent his noggin. When asked if he had ever held the final-round lead, Goydos admitted no experience in such a role. "But," he said, "I've only been on tour 16 years."

So far this week, he has never been better.

"I think it's a function of saying patient," Goydos said. "I think that's the ultimate thing you have to do in this job is to stay patient. I felt like I was playing better but it would only show up for minutes instead of days. But at least that has some encouragement."

On the way to a round of five birdies and three bogeys, Goydos had 11 one-putt greens, including five straight to begin the day. For the week he has needed a tournament-best 76 putts - 18 fewer than Garcia.

"Sergio played pretty well," Goydos said. "He just didn't have anything happen. I'm sure he was looking at me and just kind of wanting to throw up."

Considering Garcia hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 greens in regulation but carded a 1-over 73, that might be understandable. It also would explain how the 28-year-old Spaniard went from 6 under and tied for the lead with two holes to play to trailing by three.

At the par-3 17th, Goydos made a 10-footer for birdie as Garcia was three-putting from the same distance. Garcia compounded the stumble by missing the fairway at 18 and failing to save par from 18 feet.

"I felt like I putted nicely; unfortunately the putts didn't want to drop," Garcia said. "And then just a bit of an unfortunate finish, I guess."

If that's what it's called, a number of players were out of luck.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson, hoping to become the first back-to-back winner, shot 71 with a double-bogey at 15 and bogey at 18. Bernhard Langer took four bogeys on the back nine and shot 75. Mickelson, Langer and Jeff Quinney all are tied for fourth.

That left Perry, a 47-year-old nine-time tour winner, as Goydos' closest challenger.

"Who would have predicted us to be in the last group?" Perry said. "I mean seriously, you've got all the kids playing so well and all the superstars playing well. And Tiger's not here, so I think it's pretty funny."

Mickelson certainly would not have made the prediction.

Asked if he was shocked that the journeyman Goydos was holding the lead, Mickelson offered this answer:

"I think that Paul Goydos is one of the nicest guys we have on tour, and he's a very solid player," Mickelson said. "I, as well as all the players, am happy to see him play well."

Goydos took it in stride.

"I'm pretty sure Mickelson is not going, 'Well, I'm playing for second,'" he said.

Goydos, a former substitute school teacher in the Long Beach, Calif., area before making it to the tour, will not spend much time thinking about it.

"I've always said, I wasn't going to look at my success as where I finished on the money list or how I did in a particular tournament. To me success is taking advantage of an opportunity in front of you. I have the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour and failure would be not preparing the best you can to do the best you can on a given day. That's failure."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be

reached at (813) 281-2534

or melliott@tampatrib.com.

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