Golf Roundup : Twiggs Uses Wind to Forge One-Shot Lead Over Trevino

Rookie Greg Twiggs used a howling wind to set up a last-hole birdie that provided him with the first-round lead Thursday in the $400,000 Doral-Eastern Open tournament at Miami.

Twiggs, who has yet to make a cut on the PGA Tour, said he played a 7-iron shot 35 yards to the left on the 18th hole, let the wind bring it back within six feet of the flag and made the birdie putt that finished off a round of 68.

That four-under-par effort, in wind gusting over 35 m.p.h., gave Twiggs a one-stroke lead over Lee Trevino, long noted as a premier wind player, and Fred Couples.

Couples had a chance to tie for the lead but ran into trouble on the water-lined, par-four 18th hole, rated one of the toughest finishing holes in golf. He avoided the water but found a sand trap that cost him a bogey.

Peter Oosterhuis also had entered the final hole ahead of the pack, but he double-bogeyed and fell two shots back.

Oosterhuis was tied at 70 with Andy Bean, rookie Bob Wrenn, Gibby Gilbert, Bill Kratzert, Barry Jaeckel and Mark McCumber.

Twiggs was an All-American at San Diego State in 1983 and made $80,000 on the mini-tour last year before qualifying for the PGA in the fall. He has played four tournaments this year without qualifying for the final two rounds.

Debbie Massey and Anne-Marie Palli each shot a two-under-par 70 to share the incomplete, rain-shortened first-round lead of the $175,000 LPGA Circle K Tucson Open at Tucson.

Pat Bradley led a group of six players tied for third at 71. The others were 1982 Tucson winner Ayoko Okamoto, Muffin Spencer-Devlin, Bonnie Lauer, Cindy Hill and Lisa Young.

Kathy Whitworth, Barb Bunkowsky, Alice Miller and Alice Ritzman were two strokes behind the leaders.

Only 97 players completed their opening round because of a two-hour morning delay caused by rain-soaked greens.

The 39 players who did not finish because of darkness will complete their first round early today.

Among those stranded on the course was Jane Lock, who was stopped one hole shy of possibly taking over the lead. The two-year pro, seeking her first tournament win, was three under par through 17 holes when play was halted.

Betsy King, last year’s Player of the Year, was one stroke back, also through 17 holes.