Find Me A 100 Winner: Paul Goydos

Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 21 October 2008 / Leave a Comment

When the wind blows at the Frys.com Open you want a man who's won in Hawaii on your side.

The Betfair Blog has become a big-priced winning machine in recent weeks. After I'd identified a couple of decent-priced winners in Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Zach Johnson, The Punter kept up the good work by pinpointing [85.0] winner Alvaro Quiros last week. Can we keep it up this week?

With three of the four PGA Tour Fall Series events so far going to players starting at well over [100.0], I'm looking across the Atlantic. The Raptor Course at Grayhawk hosts the Frys.com Open for the second time, and there were enough clues last year as to what type of characteristics we should be looking for in our search for the winner.

Tee to green accuracy is imperative on this exposed course, where wind is a significant factor. At [160.0], Paul Goydos would appear to have ideal conditions. The 44-year-old has only won twice in a PGA Tour career spanning two decades, but the most recent of those came in similar conditions. Goydos won the 2007 Sony Open at Waialae in Hawaii, a course that also placed an emphasis on accuracy and good wind play.

The veteran American has never been particularly consistent, which explains the big odds. But we should remember that he very nearly won one of the most prestigious events of the calendar - the Players' Championship at Sawgrass where he was touched off by Sergio Garcia. There is some more recent encouragement too. On his penultimate start, Goydos hit three rounds of 66 to make the top-20 in the Texas Open.