Goydos, 43, living the dream with first 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR

5/11/2008

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Paul Goydos doesn't have a Q-rating, an endorsement deal or a top-30 finish in the last 16 months. What he does have for the first time in his career is a 54-hole lead -- in THE PLAYERS Championship, no less.

Seemingly immune to the mounting pressure and a course getting tougher by the day, Goydos seized the lead Saturday with a 10-foot birdie on the island-green 17th and a great escape on the closing hole for a 2-under 70 and a one-shot lead over Kenny Perry.

As well as he played, his self-deprecating humor was even better.

Asked if he had ever had a 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR, Goydos shook his head.

He was at 7-under 209, the highest score to lead at TPC Sawgrass since 1999.

Perry saved par with a nifty wedge on the 18th hole for a 72 that put him at 210 and in the final group Sunday. Sergio Garcia hit the ball as well as anyone for the second straight day, and got nothing in return.

Garcia was tied for the lead standing on the 17th tee, but he three-putted from just outside 10 feet, then hit into the rough on the 18th and closed with another bogey for a 73, leaving him three shots behind.

Through three rounds, Goydos has taken 78 putts, which is 18 fewer than Garcia.

The numbers are shrinking, with only 13 players remaining under par, just three of those with a major to their credit.

Phil Mickelson, trying to become the first PLAYERS repeat champion in the 35-year history of this tournament, was making a move up the leaderboard until he knocked his tee shot into the water on the 14th and took double bogey. He still wound up with a 71 and was in the group at 2-under 214, five shots behind and very much in the game.

Even Goydos would concede that.

Also five shots behind was 50-year-old Bernhard Langer, whose two victories this year have come on the Champions Tour. A day after knocking in a 60-foot birdie on the island green, Langer three-putted for bogey and finished with a 75.

Leaderboard – Round 3:

1. Paul Goydos             USA  68 71 70 209 - 7
2. Kenny Perry              USA  68 70 72 210 - 6
3. Sergio Garcia             ESP  66 73 73 212 - 4
4. Jeff Quinney             USA  71 73 70 214 - 2
    Phil Mickelson           USA  70 73 71 214 - 2
    Bernhard Langer        GER  72 67 75 214 - 2
7. Greg Kraft                 USA  75 72 68 215 - 1
    Tom Lehman            USA  73 73 69 215 - 1
    Tim Petrovic              USA  73 73 69 215 - 1
    J.B. Holmes              USA  72 72 71 215 - 1
    Stuart Appleby           AUS  72 72 71 215 - 1
    Briny Baird                USA  71 71 73 215 - 1
    Boo Weekley             USA  70 71 74 215 - 1

Source: AP, PGA Tour