L.A. OPEN/ROUND 2 : Sander Takes Lead in Windy L.A. Open; Pavin Can’t Cut It

When Bill Sander won the United States Amateur golf championship at Bel-Air in 1976, he had a burning desire to turn professional, but he didn’t think Seattle was the place to prepare.

As long as he was already in Los Angeles, he decided to stay here.

For nearly three months, Sander lived in the home of Ron Rhoads, head professional at the Riviera Country Club, and played and practiced from dawn to dusk on the course where they play the Los Angeles Open.

Sander got his card that year, lost it, and then gained it again, but until Friday, on that same Riviera course, he had done little to make a name for himself on the PGA Tour.

Friday, battling 40-m.p.h. winds in the early morning, Sander shot a five-under-par 66 for a 36-hole score of 136 and a one-stroke lead in the Los Angeles Open.

Danny Edwards, who had the day’s low round with a 64, is at 137 with T. C. Chen, the slender Taiwanese who nearly won the United States Open two years ago, and Rick Fehr, like Sander a resident of Seattle.

Then came the Wadkins brothers, Bobby and Lanny, at 138 with Craig Stadler and Scott Hoch. Seve Ballesteros headed a group of seven at 139 that included defending champion Doug Tewell and two local favorites, Duffy Waldorf of Tarzana and Sam Randolph of Santa Barbara.

Corey Pavin, the favorite here after winning the Bob Hope Classic and Hawaiian Open, was a victim of the 36-hole cut at three-over-par 145. Pavin, who soared to a 77 after an opening-round 69, missed by a stroke.

Also failing to make the cut were Johnny Miller at 151, Lee Trevino at 148, and former L.A. Open winners Hale Irwin and David Edwards, Danny’s brother, both at 146. Andrew Magee also missed by a stroke--the victim of a two-stroke penalty for a lost ball on the first hole.

Another casualty was Jeff Lewis, who started the day a stroke off the lead. He shot an 81 for a 148.

Sander, one of the longest hitters on the tour, had six birdies and a bogey and gave credit to his Riviera experience.

“I feel like I know this course pretty well,” he said of the par-71 course that rates as one of the most difficult in the country. “That may come in handy, especially on the greens.”

Rhoads and members at Riviera remember Sander for his length off the tees.

“Bill played a lot here and became something of a legend by hitting every par-4 from the blue (championship) tees with a driver and a pitching wedge,” Rhoads recalled. “That includes No. 2 and No. 18, both 467 yards, and No. 15, which is 454 yards.

“Bill is also the only player I know who ever hit across the barranca on No. 11, which is about 360 yards. He was the first to say that the ball must have hit something, but nevertheless, it cleared the ditch.”

Sander needed all of his strength on that same hole--a 559-yard par-5--Friday after hitting his drive into the woods. He had to punch it out to the fairway, leaving himself 250 yards to the front of the green.

“I hit a driver off the fairway, and hit it as good as I could,” Sander said. The ball rolled over the green, from where he had to chip back and save par with a putt.

“I was very happy to make par after my tee shot,” he said.

Many players were hampered by the wind, which was blowing from the northeast rather than from the ocean, but Sander said it made some holes play easier.

“You really have to create shots when the winds blows like this,” he said. “You end up hitting 80% of your shots about three-quarters. But the way the wind was blowing, it made some of the tougher holes easier to attack.”

After nine fruitless years on the tour, Sander may be ready to assert himself. Last week, at San Diego, he finished sixth, best of his career, and earned $14,607.

“You can be the best amateur in the country,” Sander said, “but when you come out here, you’re at the bottom of the list.”

Some of the other low scores came in contrasting ways.

Danny Edwards and Stadler made theirs with accurate putting. Both used only 23 putts for the 18 holes, saving par on hole after hole when they missed the green.

Lanny Wadkins, on the other hand, was nearly perfect with his irons, hitting the ball close enough for six birdies and routine two-putt greens for pars on the other holes.

Wadkins’ 65 pulled him even with his brother, Bobby, the first-round leader with a 66.

“I wasn’t going to let my little brother have all the fun on my favorite course,” Lanny said. “I’m proud of him, and I hope he does well, like finish second.”

Stadler also had six birdies before he reached the 18th hole where he made his only bogey.

His 3-iron second shot, off the side of a hill, faded to the right of the green and hit a spectator on the head. The ball bounded down an incline, underneath a tarpaulin on a beer wagon.

“Hey, Craig, want a towel to kneel down and get the ball?” shouted an onlooker, alluding to last week when Stadler’s use of a towel while hitting a shot cost him more than $37,000.

Stadler smiled thinly, took relief with a free drop and chipped back up to the green, where he needed two putts for a bogey and a 66.

“I got what I deserved on that hole,” he said. “I hit a bad tee shot and a bad second shot.”

Stadler was disqualiied after finishing in a tie for second place last week in San Diego after a TV viewer spotted him using a towel in the soggy turf during Saturday’s play. Even though it was a day late, the PGA disqualified him.

“It took me a couple of days to get over it,” Stadler said. “It’ll be awhile before I forget it, though. But the rule is there.”

The wind, Edwards said, posed little problem to him because he grew up in Oklahoma.

“We have a state law in Oklahoma that the wind has to blow 20 m.p.h. everyday, so you either learn to play in it or quit golf,” he said.

Edwards, who races sports cars when he’s not golfing, was hitting his approach shots so close to the flag that he needed only two putts of more than 12 feet for his seven birdies.

Today’s third round will be televised on Channel 2 from 1 to 3 p.m.