PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Into a golf world saturated with those players who seem to always “hit great putts that don’t go in,” or those who “are hitting it good, but just not scoring,” or even those who have been “working hard on their games,” it is a breath of fresh air to welcome the casual, but genuine Paul Goydos.

Firmly entrenched in a share of second place midway through The Players Championship, the unpretentious Goydos can been seen as a challenger and if you want to say that he’s a contender, well, fine. But he merely shrugs and puts thing into a perspective that you rarely get out on the PGA Tour, where player after player refers to the “Book of Cliches” for appropriate answers.
    
“Basically, right now we’re still just pace cars,” said Goydos, referring not only to the man, Kenny Perry, whose 36-hole total is 6-under, but to those who are 5-under — Bernhard Langer, Sergio Garcia, and himself.
    
“We’re going to wait and see what happens on the weekend when the racing starts. But it’s a good place to start the weekend off. If nothing else, you get to sleep in.”

You don’t normally get clever and tasty stuff like that from pro golfers, most of them being of the opinion that what they’re doing out here is life and death and an avenue for world peace. Grim stares and gut-wrenching answers are often the norm and rare are the humorous exchanges and self-deprecating moments.

Except when Goydos is involved, of course. That is why his presence near the top of The Players Championship leaderboard is a bonus to those who need player reactions to write their stories. Simply put, Goydos is a great interview, not because he’s a stand-up comedian, but because he’s honest and forthright, reflective and inquisitive.
    
Whereas many players on the PGA Tour would be offended at being called “veteran journeymen” — after all, according to the book of clichés they’re all there “to win” — Goydos uses the phrase to describe himself. In fact, he quips that he’s more “journeyman” than “veteran,” and he wasn’t so vain that he didn’t take it a step further. He compared himself to a “utility infielder” in baseball and just the other day Goydos talked about how there’s such a distinct difference between the truly remarkable players — the Tiger Woodses, the Phil Mickelsons, the Sergio Garcias — and the layers of other Tour players.

Cheers to you, Mr. Goydos, for such views and please, keep playing well so that those trips to the media center may continue.

Actually, if you are in the market for a PGA Tour member to root for, one who doesn’t command the spotlight and attract oodles of attention already, may I suggest Goydos. At 43, he is proof positive that the majority of these men are not the ATM machines people consider them to be, but rather are they guys who have to play well to earn their keep.

For every Woods or Mickelson, Ernie Els or Adam Scott, Vijay Singh or Retief Goosen, there are a dozen or so Paul Goydoses, guys who fly commercial, work on the range hours at a time, and truly need to gut out making the cut because there aren’t piles of guaranteed cash coming in.

Insufferable are those who try to jam down your throat that the sad-sack John Daly is representative “of the everyday man,” when in fact he is not.

Goydos, I would argue, is a far better example to be attracted to. He represents much to be admired.

He is not blessed with the greatest of talents, but he makes it work. He has been knocked down a few times, but always he has worked hard to come back.

When he was lodged below No. 125 on the money list in back-to-back seasons, he didn’t have the luxury of a bottomless bucket of sponsor’s exemptions like some (think Daly), so he returned to Q School at the age of 38 and got back his card.

When after the 2005 season he lost full-playing status, Goydos turned to that time-honored formula: He simply played better. Finishing second at the 2006 Sony Open allowed him to play out the rest of that season, then he returned a year later to win that same tournament.

There have been just two career victories and never has he ranked better than 44th on the money list, but the glory of Goydos is this: He has always treated his PGA Tour membership with great respect. He knows how those in other corners of the country live their lives and he considers himself silly lucky to be where he is.

Heck, at one point in his life he was a substitute school teacher, so you don’t think he’s going to say his daily prayers that he’s able to tee it up on Thursdays and compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps more than a million? Of course he is.

That is why he didn’t have a nervous breakdown like many of his colleagues would have done when an endorsement deal came to a close with Pep Boys. Instead, Goydos donned the hat for a while longer than he was required to, “because they’re great guys,” until finally deciding upon another one.

No, no one paid him to do so. Instead, he strolled into a hat store at the airport in Charlotte, N.C., and bought one that represents his alma mater, Long Beach State. It’s black with gold lettering and it looks pretty darn good, too.

“I had a kid who said he wanted my hat,” said Goydos. “I said, ‘It’s the only one I’ve got, sorry.’ ”

What he does have plenty of, however, is good character. Much to the benefit of the PGA Tour.