Paul Goydos Shoots 59 at John Deere Classic

Two time winner on the PGA Tour Paul Goydos shot only the fourth 59 in the history of the PGA Tour today at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, IL. It was the first round of the John Deere Classic. Goydos, nicknamed “Sunshine” by his friends, joins Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999) in the 59 club. He shot 12-under on the par 71 layout, with eight birdies on the back nine, including birdies on Nos. 17 and 18, to post his 59. He missed only one fairway and two greens in regulation all day. He made a seven foot birdie putt on the final hole to accomplish the feat.

David Duval was the last PGA Tour player to shoot 59 when the former world No. 1 did it during the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope at the PGA West’s Palmer Course. While certainly a very rare occurance on the PGA Tour, it happens more often in other events and tours around the world. The last 59 carded on a major professional tour was done by Jason Gore, who did it during the second round of the Nationwide Tour’s 2005 Cox Classic. Annika Sorenstam is the only LPGA Tour player to have ever shot 59. She did it in the second round of the 2001 Standard Register PING tournament, which she went on to win.

Although 59 is the lowest score in official competition, it’s not the lowest score we’ve seen in competition. Shigeki Maruyama shot a 58 at a U.S. Open qualifier in 2000, scoring 29s on both sides of Woodmont Country Club to post a score that wasn’t even eligible for the record books. Why? Who knows. Another Japanese player, young phenom Ryo Ishikawa recently shot a 58 at The Crowns for his seventh Japan Tour title. He had 12 birdies in his bogey-free round on the 6,545-yard Nagoya Golf Club course. Harrison Frazar and David Gossett also shot 59s during PGA Tour qualifying school.

In casual and practice rounds, we’ve heard stories of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson also shooting 59s and 58s, but neither has managed to put such a score together in official tournament competition.

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