Tournament Is Long of Name and Leaders After First Round

Few games can humble a man quite so quickly or thoroughly as golf.

Every weekend hacker with a double-figure handicap should find a bit of amusement--and consolation--in the case of a pro named Larry Rinker.

He made 14 eagles last year, the most by any player on the tour. He also won $195,000, and felt cocky enough to set a goal of $300,000 in 1986.

Last month in Phoenix, Rinker managed to shoot an 11 on a par-3 hole. That’s not easy even if you’re a bad golfer.

Not surprisingly, his confidence was sagging as he teed off Thursday in the first round of the Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open at Torrey Pines.

Four hours later, Rinker signed a scorecard that included an eagle, a string of eight one-putt greens and a score of six-under-par 66.

That earned him a share of the first-round lead, with a group of five others that included defending champion Woody Blackburn.

Befitting a tournament with such a long-winded title, the list of leaders went on and on, embracing the likes of Mark Wiebe, Larry Mize, Dan Edwards and Robert Wrenn.

If some of those names don’t jump out and grab you, consider the list of those one shot back at 67--Paul Azinger, Bob Tway, Bill Glasson, Rick Fehr, Brian Mogg and Andy Dillard.

The tournament’s biggest name, Tom Watson, who hasn’t won in a year and a half, was three shots behind with a 69.

Even though a stiff breeze was blowing in off the Pacific Ocean, conditions were mild compared to last week’s AT&T; Open at Pebble Beach, when every wintry element, with the exception of snow, combined to make the pros miserable.

Given a reprieve by the weather, nearly half the field of 156 shot par or better.

Rinker, who hasn’t made a cut in three tournaments this year, was pleased with his quick getaway. He knows he has to get his game in shape if he’s to have a chance to win a $5 bet with his sister Laurie, who plays on the women’s tour.

They’ve wagered that princely sum on which of them finishes higher on the money list.

The magic number for Blackburn is 66--strokes, not dollars.

En route to winning last year’s San Diego Open, he opened with three straight 66s, and matched that figure again Thursday.

“It was nice to pick up where I left off,” he said.

If he had it do over, Blackburn said he would taken off for a few days to enjoy his first tour victory last February. Instead, it was a month before he got home to spend time with family and friends.

“I spun my wheels a little after winning here,” he said, “but I was pleased that I got back my exempt status early in the year.

“Winning helped me relax, maybe too much at times. It’s so hard to win, you have to keep moving forward. You can’t sit back and put it on cruise.”

Blackburn’s round included a 50-foot eagle putt, which probably helped him relax a bit further.

Vindication was the reward for Wiebe, who suffered a knee injury on a Colorado ski slope and wasn’t able to hone his game in December, as he had planned.

Wiebe, from nearby Escondido, spent January working overtime.

“I was practicing until dark nearly every day,” he said. “I have some direction now, which makes practice go quicker. I finally have a clue on how I want to swing.”

Wiebe parlayed a suggestion from his caddie into a share of the lead.

“After the third hole, he told me to shoot a score and try to get three under,” Wiebe said. “So I birdied the next three holes, and suddenly I was four-under. It all happened so fast.”

Keeping up a good pace was desirable for golfers and gallery alike, since the wind could be numbing to anyone who stayed in one place too long.

“It was blowing what I would call about a one-club wind,” Edwards said. “It was a strong wind, and cold, but it wasn’t unbelievable like it was at the Crosby last week.”

The wind didn’t bother Mize, except on a couple of drives. He said he hit most of the greens and was pleased with the way he handled the gusts from the ocean.

A year ago, the pros were upset about the lack of grass on the fairways and in the rough, but there were no complaints Thursday.

After local officials were faced with the possibility of losing the tournament because the course didn’t meet PGA standards, corrective measures were taken to improve the greenery.