CHUBB CLASSIC PRESENTED BY SERVPRO

February 17, 2023

Paul Goydos

Tiburón Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. That's got to make lunch taste a little better. Five birdies through the first eight holes to get you going a little bit. Take us through your round.

PAUL GOYDOS: First of all, the course was set up today in perfect shape. We didn't really have any wind early in the day. It's kind of a windy place. I made a few putts early. I made a nice putt on 1 and a nice putt on 3 and a nice putt on 5 and a nice putt on 6 and a nice putt on 8. I drove it straight and birdied the holes you're kind of supposed to with wedges, and I took advantage of that. I made a little bit of a mess on 9, but that's going to happen, and me.

Other than that, I played really solidly. Made a nice birdie on -- I get the holes confused now that they rerouted them. 11 and 14 and 15, I made birdies, including a two-putt on 15, which was something rare for me. And then just got about as lucky as I could get on 18. I drove it way right in the garbage and I think we were real lucky to find it, and then just chipped it out, hit 5-wood in the right bunker and holed the bunker shot.

I played nicely, and a lot of it was my day. Everything kind of went -- I hit it where the putts, where I could read them. Sometimes you don't do that.

Q. Do you know this is your 189th start out here?

PAUL GOYDOS: Someone said that. No, not out here. 700th or something total, something like that. I didn't know it was 189 out here. But I heard it was my 700th start between the PGA TOUR and the Champions Tour, which is a nice round number, I guess.

Q. What does that speak to?

PAUL GOYDOS: Well, for me, it just means that I've been able to grind things out. No one has ever accused me of being a star or a great player, but I've been able to stay consistent and do my thing and keep doing my thing, enough to have a nice long career out of it.

I mean, if you would have asked me if I was 20 years old if I'd have one start, I would have been surprised. So having 700 is great. It's a bonus.

There's a piece of me -- those are the things you think about maybe when you're done, however number that ends up being, but it's -- I don't know how many people have done it, but I betcha it's not tons.

Q. What pushed you across to kind of finally believe that you do what you do enough --

PAUL GOYDOS: I tell myself that I believe that. That's a function of the motivational process. You have to continue to get better. Again, I think that there's a mentality -- again, I'm back on the Champions Tour now. I have to play well in order to keep my status out here. That was for the most part my whole PGA TOUR career.

Obviously you win a little bit, but I don't think the answer to winning is to start lollygagging. (Indiscernible). But to me, you're kind of my week to week trying to do the best you can, and it needs to accumulate into something good. It is a decent exposure to see what other players do. I need to be very consistent. But I've been lucky enough to do it.

Q. Do you plan on playing in the desert?

PAUL GOYDOS: Yes.

Q. Do you know the history behind Mission Hills?

PAUL GOYDOS: Well, I mean, the Dinah Shore history I know, yes.

Q. If you happen to win, Poppies Pond --

PAUL GOYDOS: You have to jump into Poppies Pond? I don't know, that seems like an LPGA tradition. I don't know that we'd want to hone in on their parade.

I would think that if that were something they were talking about, I would get their permission. I think that's something that that tournament organizers, the LPGA do. I don't know that we'd want to necessarily take traditions that belong to other people, personally. I would think if we go down that path, we'd get their blessing.