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VALERO TEXAS OPEN

May 15, 2009

Paul Goydos

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

DOUG MILNE: Paul, thanks for joining us for a few minutes after the second round of the Valero Texas Open. Great play again today. Currently you've got a three-shot lead. Obviously the round is not done today, but you gotta feel good about the position you're in because of the three strokes and because you're hitting the ball so solid, and as a result, here you are. Just some comments on the day.
PAUL GOYDOS: Yeah. Another good day. Really only had one mediocre shot all day, and that was on the first hole. I made bogey, and after that I played reasonably well.
There's certain holes here, again, with the wind blowing, you're trying to find a way to make 4s. And there's other holes where you can be more aggressive and make birdie, but I just kind of kept it in front of me and made a few putts, and again, another day where good things are happening.

Q. You touched on it yesterday, but the confidence level playing at a place that you feel comfortable at, just mentally the difference between playing at a place you don't feel comfortable --
PAUL GOYDOS: I've got a history here of shooting good rounds. Again, the history of playing good tournaments, I've played in the last group here on Saturday a couple of times, and I just happened to play four rounds here.
But again, you come to a place, again, this week 128. I think I've shot 64 here before. To me, it's a touch easier to stay patient and you make a few pars or do something and I bogeyed the first hole, again, today, but it's a golf course where I've made birdies before and maybe you hang in there a little better when you've had that success.

Q. Even as a player do you guys stand back and look at a guy like Justin Leonard who has come here and put up amazing numbers year after year after year? Is there an admiration for a player who comes to a course and does that kind of thing?
PAUL GOYDOS: Justin is going to be a Hall of Fame player. I mean the fact he comes to a place where he's comfortable and plays well is not a real big surprise.
But yeah, I think this game is incredibly difficult, and the top players, Justin all the way up through Tiger, make the game look a lot easier than it actually is.

Q. Do you feel comfortable at the top?
PAUL GOYDOS: I hate that. I hate being -- (laughs).
Yeah. I mean it's just kind of like being the pace car, for lack of a better word. We're going to go out and play two more rounds of golf, but the tournament's going to be in front of me tomorrow, which is kind of cool.
And this is why you play. If I wasn't comfortable where I am right now, I need to find another profession. This is why we play, practice and endure rough weeks, so we learn something, to improve and get better. And tomorrow is going to be another chapter in that learning process of becoming a better player.

Q. Are your daughters coming in this weekend?
PAUL GOYDOS: I can't imagine they would want to. They've got other things probably going.

Q. Will she be out of school this weekend?
PAUL GOYDOS: Actually, my oldest has got college finals next week, so I'm certain -- I haven't even broached the subject.
I think watching on TV is a pretty good seat, and again, they've got their own set of priorities, which I think I would have the same priorities if I were them.

Q. When you go in, as you said, the pace car, going into the weekend, does it change anything as far as the way you approach your rounds?
PAUL GOYDOS: I think you still have that same problem I had yesterday, 12-under par is not going to win this tournament, barring some crazy weather that I don't know about, so it's nice to be at 12-under par after two rounds and leading, but the reality is you still need to go out and make birdies, again, depending what the weather does.
But you're going to have to continue this pace, for the most part, to stay near the lead. So I would hope I don't change anything, but tomorrow's a whole new day.
DOUG MILNE: Would you mind real quick before we let you go just running us through your birdies.
PAUL GOYDOS: Yeah. Bogeyed 10, made a couple solid pars. 13 I hit an 8-iron to about maybe 15 feet. That might be the longest putt I made all week. Couldn't have gone more in the center.
It was not the greatest start in the world. Bogeyed 10 and 11, and I had to get it up-and-down for par. Got through the 12th hole, which was the hole I was just trying to make four today.
Par-5, I hit as good a tee shot as I could hit. Hit an okay kind of rescue to the right, but it was where I could play. It's another hole where you get out of position, you're going to see eagles there, but you're also going to see 6s and 7s there, and I kept the ball in position there and got it up-and-down just off the edge of the green for a birdie, made a 2-footer.
17, I probably hit as good a 5-iron as I could hit. Hit six to eight feet from the hole, and poured that one right in the middle.
One, the wind switched on us. I hit a pretty good drive, and 3-wood is all you can reach at times. It was 115 yards to the hole. Hit a really good little wedge shot in there about 10 feet, and again, the ball couldn't have gone more in the center, solid par.
I had a good up-and-down, good couple savers on 4 and 5. 6, kind of figured out the wind. I hit a nice little 6-iron to the right pin with the hook wind. Not necessarily the most comfortable shot in the world. I imagine a lot of players are hitting 7s and 8s there, but I just wanted to get something out of the wind, and it happened to land perfectly just short, rolled up about six or eight feet from the hole there, and made that.
Kind of made a mess of 7. Actually I had the longest putt maybe of my career. The pin was back, I had 100- footer, and I think I almost made it. I couldn't tell. It was almost over the horizon, it was so far away. Good two-putt there.
I hit eight, I had a look at birdie and didn't make it. And nine I hit a good tee shot, good wedge and another really good 5-footer that went out in the middle. Just a good solid day.

Q. How many putts did you end up with?
PAUL GOYDOS: Probably similar to yesterday, very similar round. Made maybe one or two more, but very similar in nature.
Yesterday I made a bunch of birdies and bogeyed the last hole. And today I bogeyed the first hole and birdied some.
25 putts today. When you're under and on pace to break 100 putts, you better play well and that's the situation.

Q. That really makes the difference in this course too, doesn't it?
PAUL GOYDOS: Well, I think it makes the difference on every course, making putts. This golf course, I think it's good to putt like that everywhere, quite frankly. I don't know that it really matters what course you're on.
I guess here you might have lower numbers here, so you're going to get more opportunities for birdies closer in.
And what people don't realize, too, is you know, we get the pins on the corners of the greens, so you short-side yourself. You can hit it on the fringe and be 12 feet from the hole here and make it, and that's zero putts. And you're going to be pretty aggressive on this stuff, and again, you've got a lot of shorter angles.
DOUG MILNE: All right, Paul. It's always a pleasure to have you in here, and keep it up.
PAUL GOYDOS: We'll see. Hopefully. Thanks.

End of FastScripts

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