Call it the Spring of golf, call it good timing, call it whatever you want—but call it about time.  Long Beach Wilson and Long Beach State grad Paul Goydos is having his best tournament since last year’s Players Championship that granted him instant folk-hero status, as he currently leads the Valero Texas Open by three strokes.  Goydos followed up his opening-day -7 score with a phenomenal -5 on Friday.  The three-stroke lead is the largest he’s ever had on the Tour.

“It’s just kind of like being the pace car, for lack of a better word,” Goydos told the AP. “We’re going to go out and play two more rounds of golf, but the tournament’s going to be in front of me tomorrow, which is kind of cool.”

The day started out rough, as Goydos bogied on the first hole, before rebounding with six birdies.

“This is why you play. If I wasn’t comfortable where I am right now, I need to find another profession,” Goydos said. “This is why we play, practice and endure rough weeks, so we learn something, to improve and get better. And tomorrow is going to be another chapter in that learning process of becoming a better player.”

The even better news for Long Beach sports fans is that one of the chase pack three strokes back of Goydos is fellow Long Beach State grad John Mallinger, who shot a -6 on Friday to climb down to -9.  Mallinger is tied with four others, including three-time Texas Open champ Justin Leonard, who only shot a two-under 68 on Friday to slip a little further behind Goydos.

We’ll keep you updated on Saturday and Sunday as the tournament progresses.