Change of Weather for Golfers : San Diego Open Is Perfect Contrast

The warm sun, the cloudless sky and the bright blue sea formed a picturesque setting at Torrey Pines Tuesday, and golf’s touring pros reveled in it.

After the rain, hail, fog, wind and cold that assaulted their senses last week on the Monterey peninsula, Tuesday’s conditions were the perfect counterpoint.

Tuesday was a time for rehearsal and fine-tuning prior to the Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open, which opens with a Pro-Am today. A field of 156 pros, including defending champ Woody Blackburn, begins pursuit of an $81,000 first prize on Thursday.

Among the featured names is Curtis Strange, who last year won three tournaments and earned $542,321, surpassing Tom Watson’s five-year-old record of $530,808. A couple of years earlier, Strange set a tour record for most money earned in a single year without a tournament victory, $263,378.

Strange is making his first appearance here in several seasons, and he is impressed with the condition of the fairways and greens, which had been criticized by several players a year ago.

It even appeared San Diego might forfeit the tournament because the course didn’t measure up to PGA standards. However, a rescue plan was adopted, with new grass planted and extra men and equipment added to maintain the course.

“The conditions are a lot better than I remember seeing here,” Strange said. “Because of the rain last week, I suspect the course is softer and will play longer than last year.”

The weather was warm and sunny for the opening three rounds in 1985, when Blackburn strung together three straight 66s before finishing with a 71 on a windy, overcast Sunday. Blackburn defeated Ron Streck in a playoff.

Even if the remainder of the week doesn’t match Tuesday’s weather, it would be hard to imagine conditions as soggy and dreary as the pros faced at last weekend’s AT&T; tournament at Pebble Beach.

“That was real Crosby weather - the worst Crosby weather I ever saw,” Strange said. “You put on all those clothes to stay warm and dry, and it’s hard to feel right. You can get into some bad habits that way, fighting yourself and the conditions.”

When his game is sharp, Strange said, the conditions don’t matter. He could play in the street and still score well.

However, Strange isn’t in that groove right now. He’s somewhere between struggling and prospering. In the afterglow of his record-setting 1985, Strange is waiting for the magic to return.

“My game really hasn’t been bad,” he said, “but I’m not scoring well. I tell myself it’s still early in the year, and I’ve never played too well in the West.

“I was expecting a lot of myself early this year, and I need to just let go and let it happen.”

Strange said his outlook hasn’t changed radically because of his big year, and he isn’t trying to live up to anyone’s expectations but his own.

“In the off-season, I thought about getting off to a good beginning this year, but it’s been tough to pick it up,” he said.

“The worst thing I could do would be to put extra pressure on myself.”

Strange last year won the Honda Classic, the Panasonic-Las Vegas Invitational and the Canadian Open, and finished in the top 10 seven times. He finished in the money in 22 of the 25 tournaments he entered.

“I wasn’t doing anything that I hadn’t done in the past,” Strange said. “In fact, there were times when I was a little uncomfortable out there.

“The difference was, when I got in contention, I played well on the last day of a tournament. Let’s face it--there’s a lot of luck involved in this game. It’s important that someone not beat you when you’re at your best, but you really don’t have a defense for another player’s offense.”

Particularly with the likes of Strange, Blackburn and a lineup that features Masters champion Berhard Langer, Tom Kite, Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler, Ray Floyd and Watson, who will open play Thursday.

But first, there’s a Pro-Am loaded with names such as Bob Hope, former President Gerald Ford, Andy Williams, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell, Alex Spanos, Dan Fouts, Steve Garvey, Graig Nettles and Don Sutton.

Former winners in this year’s tournament are Gary Hallberg, Bruce Lietzke, Jay Haas, Gary Koch, George Archer, Bobby Nichols and Johnny Miller.

Featured pairings for Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open Pro Am

North Course--1st Tee 10:40--Ray Floyd, Gerald Ford, Leon Parma, Louis Gerstner Jr., Bob Palmer

11:43--Ben Crenshaw, Peter Franzee, Al Severson, Edgar Cullman, Peter Solomon

12:01--Nathaniel Crosby, Bob Hope, Dan Fouts, Alex Spanos, Jack Childers

North Course--10th Tee 8:03--Tom Kite, Richard Zawadzki, Richard Lauter, Pierre Cossette, Andy Williams

10:40--Tom Watson, Frank Leo, Skip Meyer, George Tomlanovich, Tom Smothers

South Course--1st Tee 7:54--Bernhard Langer, Bronson Jacoway, Alan Johnson, Trum Richard, Dennis James

8:03--Curtis Strange, Bob Topol, Ralph Goodman, John DeLuca, Gary Grissom

11:07--Johnny Miller, James Stern, Joe Cordell, Cy Laughter, Gale Haggart

11:40--Don Pooley, Larry Stewart, George Leonard, Peter Nolan, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.