Kite Breezes to 65, Leads by 4 : Golf: Windy weather at Hilton Head, S.C., was just perfect for veteran in his bid to accomplish some very lofty goals.

It was windy here Friday, and that suited veteran golfer Tom Kite just fine.

While others faltered, Kite shot a remarkable round of 65 for a 36-hole total of 134, eight under par, and took a four-stroke lead in the Nabisco Championships at Harbour Town Golf Links.

“I like the wind and I hope it blows like this the next two days,” Kite said of the swirling gusts that frustrated most of the elite 30-man field. “It will make the course play difficult, which is to my liking.”

Even more to his liking will be the money and honors that will be his if he can retain his lead the next two days.

For one thing, there is the first-place paycheck of $450,000, which would not only make Kite the leading money winner of the year, but would also lift him ahead of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus to the top of the all-time money-winning list.

Then, there’s the player-of-the-year award that is based on a point system, including victories and standing on the money-winning list.

There is also the Vardon Trophy, which goes to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average for the year.

Kite, 39, who has been on the tour since 1972, is recognized as one of the most consistent players of all time.

Yet he is sometimes slighted because he hasn’t won a major tournament, identified as the U.S Open, Masters, British Open and PGA championship. Nor has he ever been honored as player of the year.

“I’ve been thinking about player of the year, but a round like today brings me back to the reality of keeping my thoughts away from that,” Kite said. “I know if I start thinking about things like that, I have no chance to win the tournament. The better I handle that, the better off I’ll be.

“There are a lot of really nice awards and possibilities that can happen to me, provided I play well this week. But I can’t get too far ahead of myself.”

For sure, he has a comfortable lead. Donnie Hammond, the first-day leader, with a 65, slumped to a 73 and is tied with Mark O’Meara for second at 138.

Chip Beck moved into contention with a 68 and is tied with Payne Stewart at 139.

Some of the big names found the wind too difficult to deal with, though. Curtis Strange, who shot a 68 Thursday, came back with a 75 and is at 143. Greg Norman, who had a first-round 67, slumped to a 74 and is tied at 141 with Steve Jones.

Kite had seven birdies and only one bogey on his round, but just as important were his par-saving holes.

For example, on the 439-yard eighth hole, his second shot was 25 yards short of the green. He chipped to within six feet of the cup, then made his par putt.

“I made some good saves today,” Kite said. “I did it on four, then on eight. You know that when you’re playing well, you’re going to make some birdies. But you don’t want to give them away. Any time you can save a par it does as much (as), or more for you than a birdie.”

The winds, ranging from 15 to 30 m.p.h., made club selection difficult.

Kite, from Austin, Tex., said that the wind is hard to handle because it can blow you off balance. But he handled it.

It was particularly menacing at the 17th and 18th holes, which are close to Calibogue Sound.

Hammond bogeyed the last three holes, and O’Meara got a double bogey on the par-4, 458-yard 18th.

O’Meara hooked his three-iron second shot into a marsh and took a drop. Then he had to settle for a six on the hole.

“It’s not like I missed the cut,” O’Meara said philosophically. “I’m still in contention. I hit a poor shot at 18 and I accept that fact.”

As for Kite, O’Meara said: “My hat is off to him. He had a fabulous round. But there’s a lot of golf to play. As long as I can make some birdies and play as well as I can, I’ll have a chance when Sunday afternoon comes around.”

As does Kite, O’Meara wants the wind to continue--and that’s the forecast.

“I want the course to play as hard as possible,” he said. “Then, the best player is going to win.”

Kite was paired with Strange, last year’s Nabisco winner who beat Kite in a playoff and in so doing became player of the year. But Strange never got going Friday.

“Curtis never looked like he was in sync,” Kite said. “This was one of those days that if you found yourself struggling, it was very difficult to scrape a good round out of it.”

Kite said that Strange is still in the hunt, reasoning that if he can open with a 69 and then shoot a 65 on the second day, others can do the same thing in the concluding rounds.

But they will have to catch the wind player first.

Golf Notes

There were only six players who broke 70 Friday: Tom Kite with his 65, Wayne Grady with 67, Chip Beck and John Mahaffey with 68s, Steve Jones and Ted Schulz with 69s. Mahaffey had opened with an 80 Thursday. . . . More on the wind: “I probably stepped back 15 times when I was about to hit,” Donnie Hammond said. “The wind changed intensity a lot.” Said Payne Stewart: “On the 15th hole, the wind was really tough. You had to hit three, good solid shots because it was howling in your face.”

Add Kite: “It’s as good a round as I’ve played this year,” said the two-time winner on the tour in 1989. He has earned $4,975,691 in his career, compared to $5,160,243 by Tom Watson and $5,102,420 by Jack Nicklaus, who aren’t in the Nabisco field. In this season’s money standings, Kite is second with $770,278 behind Stewart’s $825,301.