"Today was a nuclear bomb. I don't know where it came from... the craziness just blurted out of me," said Paul Goydos, who shot a 59 today at the John Deere Classic.

AP Reports:

Goydos, with only two victories in his 18 years on the PGA Tour, became only the fourth player in tour history to shoot a 59 with a magical opening round at the John Deere Classic on Thursday.

His tee shots found the middle of the fairway. His approaches stuck on the green. And, most importantly, his putts found the middle of the cup over and over again.

And, by simple good fortune, I was there as a spectator, watching every shot for all 18 holes.

It was the first 59 on the tour since David Duval's memorable final round helped him win the 1999 Bob Hope Classic....

Goydos is the first to shoot 59 on a par 71. The others came on par 72s....

Goydos birdied every hole on the back nine except for No. 15, where he holed a 6-foot par putt to keep alive his hopes. He finished off with three birdies, the last one from 7 feet to join the most exclusive club in golf....

"It's almost a mythical number in our game," Goydos said. "I've gone from clubbing a ball in the backyard all the way to the moon, and missed all the steps in between."

Like pitching a no-hitter in baseball, right?

"Closer to a perfect game," said Cliff Kresge, one of Goydos' playing partners.

Cliff is my nephew, which is why I was there today (in Silvis, Illinois).

ADDED: Tee time for the threesome was 7:09 A.M. and Meade and I were 2 of 4 persons who were watching at that point. The crowd grew toward the end as word got around, but the 4 of us were the only spectators who saw every shot. That was pretty cool!