Oak Tree Wilts as Gilder Shoots a 66 to Lead by 1

The toughest golf course in America had a subpar day. Hey, it happens. Certainly not at its intimidating worst Thursday in the first round of the PGA Championship, Oak Tree Golf Club was beaten to a pulp.

Over 18 hot and humid holes, avoiding yawning traps and putting safely over greens that have more humps than a camel, Bob Gilder led an all-out assault on par, along with many of his peers, armed with irons and woods. Together they took out after Oak Tree as if they were packing chainsaws in their bags.

Gilder shot a course-record 66, which was worth a one-stroke lead over Paul Azinger, Chip Beck, John Cook and Great Britain’s Nick Faldo.

For one round, at least, Oak Tree’s bark was worse than its bite. The par-71 layout dug from the red dirt of Central Oklahoma has a rating of 76.9 strokes, which makes it the most difficult course in the country. But it didn’t play that way on opening day of the PGA.

Although it was hot, there was little wind for the first round. And since the greens were about as soft as dough, making par was as easy as pie. By sunset, 31 players were under par, equaling the PGA Championship record for a single round.

Among them was Florida club pro Jay Overton, who didn’t make the cut in four other PGA appearances.

Overton was quite grateful for his round of 68, two shots back of Gilder in a group with Craig Stadler, Raymond Floyd, Rocco Mediate and Australians Peter Senior and Greg Norman.

“This is the first time I’ve managed to get into the clubhouse without falling down,” Overton said.

Defending champion Larry Nelson shot a 70, British Open champion Seve Ballesteros had a 71, and U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange and five-time PGA champion Jack Nicklaus were at 72.

Gilder, who challenged in the U.S. Open before falling back in the final round, completed a five-birdie, no-bogey, trouble-free tour.

The key?

“You try to be cautious, you try to be aggressive,” Gilder said.

And you try to understand how he can be both at the same time. Gilder, who missed the cut last week in Memphis, was pleasantly surprised by the genial nature of Oak Tree Thursday.

“I thought it was going to be much tougher than it is,” Gilder said. “I don’t think they can get the greens any harder than they are now in the next three days. They have to keep water on the greens simply because of the heat.

“You know, when there’s no wind, you’re going to see low scores. I think that’s what happened today.”

Gilder’s was the lowest. The longest of his birdie putts was only 15 feet, partially because the greens are small to begin with and partially because of his accuracy with his irons.

“I had a shot at the pin on every hole,” he said.

After 17 holes, Stadler was tied for the lead, but he finished with a double-bogey 6 and a round of 68. Stadler’s drive at No. 18 was in the right rough, and his second shot, a 5-iron, came out left of the green. He pitched short and chipped within 20 feet, from where he two-putted.

“Not real impressive,” Stadler said. “The conditions were hot, the putter not hot enough.”

Azinger’s 67 was surprising because he was forced to withdraw after the first round in Memphis due to muscle spasms in his back. When he first arrived here, Azinger didn’t think he would be healthy enough to play.

But after a series of deep muscle massages, Azinger found himself able to drive the ball without any pain and considered himself lucky. The way Oak Tree played also made him feel good.

“You won’t find a better day for scoring than this,” he said. “I’m convinced this is probably the hardest golf course in America when the wind is blowing. It would wreak havoc. Any golf course in the wind may be the hardest place in the world. But without wind, no matter how hard it is, it’s playable.”

Cook, whose win last year in the International was his first in five years, has had physical problems, too, battling pneumonia as well as wrist and elbow injuries.

Unlike Azinger and Cook, Faldo said he is having no health problems.

“I’ve just got putting problems,” he said.

Faldo had four birdies on the back nine after playing the front in par but missed 10 potential birdie putts from 15 feet or less. Faldo, who holed a 30-footer for a birdie on the par-4 11th, called Oak Tree “a shotmaker’s test” of golf.

The idea, he said, is to drive the ball straight enough to be able to hit an iron to the smallish greens, many of them multi-tiered.

“They’re just small circles,” Faldo said. “And they’ve got all those raised bits and what have you.”

So what have we? Even if the course wasn’t a source of controversy as expected, Gilder managed to provide one, anyway. There are 40 PGA club pros in the 150-player field, and Gilder said they shouldn’t be here.

“I think it makes for a weak field,” Gilder said. “I know there are at least 40 guys on the tour better than the 40 (club) pros. They just don’t do it for a living.

“They’re nice guys who are tending shop and giving lessons,” he said. “To put them in the tournament is wrong. Nothing against the people themselves, but they’re not out here to make a living. This is a major championship. You should have the best players.”

Overton, director of golf at Innisbrook in Tarpon Springs, Fla., tried for his tour card once and failed. He tied for 23rd in the PGA Club Pro Championship to qualify for this event.

“I don’t play very much,” Overton said, “not with the staff and responsibilities that my job carries. If Bob were grading our skill levels, I would have to say he makes a point. We’re not going to beat Greg Norman four straight rounds.

“But there are 40 deserving professionals in the club ranks, and you’ve got to remember what the game of golf is about,” he said. “I feel like we belong. I think it’s a great reward for our side of the PGA.”