Goydos: This round would help the handicap

On the eve of the Sony Open in Hawaii, Paul Goydos, a past champion, was lamenting his form. "Been playing poorly," he said. "I am back to scratch. I had a bad winter. I think I was plus-5."

In fact, he was a plus-6.1 as recently as November first, but he is now up to a plus-4.5. It isn't as bad as he suggested. Goydos, a member of Dove Canyon Country Club, a Nicklaus design in Dove Canyon, Calif., posted 14 scores in December, one of them a 63 from the back tees and two of them 65s from the blue tees.

On Friday at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Goydos shot a seven-under par 63 to vault into contention in the Sony Open, a tournament he won in 2007.

-- John Strege