Mudd and Cook Are Cooking : After 63 and 65, Respectively, They Share Lead in Hope

Gary McCord took a long look at all the red subpar figures on the leader board at the Bob Hope Chrysler tournament and suggested, “The first one that gets to 30 under par wins.”

It is unlikely that anyone will get to 30 under before the 90-hole tournament ends Sunday at Bermuda Dunes, but it’s been that kind of a tournament.

After 54 holes, the two leaders are 16 under par and in position to threaten the record of 27 under, set last year by Lanny Wadkins and Craig Stadler.

John Cook of nearby Rancho Mirage, apparently fully recovered from a nagging injury that hampered his game for three years, shot a 65 at Indian Wells for a 200 total that was matched by Jodie Mudd, a former U.S. Public Links champion who shot a course-record 63 at Bermuda Dunes.

One shot behind were Stadler and Donnie Hammond, who both played at Bermuda Dunes. Stadler, still hurting from a fall Wednesday evening in which he bruised his right hip and wrist, shot a 69. Hammond had a 68.

Larry Mize, after two straight 66s, slipped to a 71 at La Quinta and shared the 203 slot with Gary Koch, who had a 68 at Eldorado; Raymond Floyd, who had a 65 at Indian Wells, and Mac O’Grady, the ambidextrous Palm Springs professional who had a 67 at La Quinta.

Jeff Sluman, who followed an opening-round 66 with a 74, rallied with a 64 at Indian Wells for a 204 total. Also at 204 were Mark McCumber, after a 67 at Bermuda Dunes, and first-round leader Hal Sutton, after a 69 at Eldorado.

Cook and Mudd, each of whom came out of amateur golf with “can’t-miss” tags, only to find rougher going in the professional ranks, credited new attitudes in 1986 for their opening tournament success.

Cook, who burst onto the scene at the Rolling Hills Country Club when he was 14 and became the youngest qualifier in Southern California Amateur history, played or practiced at Mission Hills Country Club every day since he ended the ’85 season.

“Instead of coming to the Hope to get my game in shape after a layoff, like I did in the past, this year I prepared early and brought it with me,” Cook said. “Hopefully, I’ll keep it with me.”

Mudd, who lost two playoffs last year and is still searching for his first tour victory, said he has quit worrying about how much money he is or isn’t making, and is playing golf to enjoy himself.

“For the first few years after I came on tour, I got myself tied up thinking of money and the leader board,” Mudd said.

“This year, I decided that I’m only playing a game and that I should enjoy what I do as a professional athlete. I want to play aggressively, but my No. 1 priority is to enjoy myself more.”

Mudd’s 63 equaled the Bermuda Dunes record established Wednesday by Peter Oosterhuis. Coupled with his 65 Thursday at Indian Wells, Mudd set a personal best for 36 holes.

“I shot 65-64 the first two rounds in the Texas Open last year in San Antonio, but John Mahaffey caught me the last day,” he said. Mahaffey won a playoff on the second extra hole.

Mudd opened the Hope with a 72 at Eldorado, although he made six birdies.

“I wasn’t thinking too well at Eldorado and I made a lot of mental mistakes,” said the slender Georgia Southern graduate. “The last two days, I have had better concentration and have played with a lot of confidence.”

Two of his nine birdies Friday followed remarkable iron shots on par-four holes. On No. 5, 432 yards, his 7-iron second shot stopped five inches from the cup. On the next hole, 361 yards, Mudd laid a wedge shot a foot away.

Surprisingly, Cook, who learned his finely tuned game under Ken Venturi at Mission Hills, has never played well in either the Hope or the Los Angeles Open.

“I don’t know why,” he said. “Some players do better in their hometown, and others never play as well at home as they’re capable of. I hope the change in my preparation makes the difference this year.”

Last year, Cook took a month off and didn’t get his game going until late in the year. Consequently, he finished 106th on the PGA money list, by far his poorest showing since joining the tour out of Ohio State in 1979.

Cook refuses to use it as an excuse, but a wrist injury sustained at the Inverrary tournament in Florida in 1982 has caused him problems. He hit a root while making an 8-iron shot and tore the tendons in his left wrist.

Instead of resting, he continued to play and the following spring reinjured the wrist during the San Diego Open at Torrey Pines. He developed tendinitis in his elbow and couldn’t straighten his arm.

Even though he won the Canadian Open and finished 16th on the money list, the injury became so aggravating that Cook entered the Scripps Clinic in San Diego at the end of the ’84 season and underwent therapy all that winter.

“One thing that has helped me considerably is working with the therapist in the physical fitness van the PGA has on tour with us,” he said.

There is a $1-million bonus for any player who wins the Hope, the AT&T; Pebble Beach Pro-Amateur and the Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational. Last year, when Wadkins won, he said he would not play in the Panasonic, thereby negating the promotion.

If Cook wins here, you can be sure he will play in Las Vegas. His father, Jim, is the tournament director.

After today’s round, when each of the 128 professionals will have played each of the four courses with amateur partners, the amateurs will retire. The low 70 professionals will then shoot for $650,000, of which $105,000 will go to the winner.