It’s Crowded at Top of Leader Board : Golf: Norman, Azinger and Baker-Finch shoot 66 as 17 break par in first round of Tournament of Champions.

After the first round of the first tournament of 1990, there were some familiar names atop the leader board at the Tournament of Champions at La Costa.

There was also the name of a player who had won only one tournament on the PGA tour.

Australian Ian Baker-Finch shared the lead Thursday with fellow Aussie Greg Norman and Paul Azinger, each shooting a six-under-par 66.

Payne Stewart was one stroke away, and six players were grouped at 69.

Norman, of course, is internationally famous. And Azinger, one of the bright young stars on the tour, was third on the money-winning list in 1989 with $951,649 in earnings.

Stewart, the PGA champion, earned $1,201,301 last year, the second-highest amount won on the tour in a season.

As for Baker-Finch, he had only one top-10 finish in 1989, but it was noteworthy. He won the Southwest Bell Colonial tournament last May at a time when he didn’t have his tour card.

That victory gave him a two-year exemption on the tour.

“It’s certainly the best round I’ve played since the Colonial,” Baker-Finch said. “A 66 was probably the lowest score I’ve had since then. It was certainly a great way to start the year.

“Last year wasn’t really a consistent year. I played through Dec. 20, trying to play my way out of a slump. But all in all I summed it up as a positive year.

“Just knowing you can win on the tour is the nicest thing. Other guys play here for a long time and don’t win and wonder whether they’re good enough, or doing the right thing.”

The 29-year-old Baker-Finch is, of course, playing in a formidable field, comprising only winners of PGA Tour events last year, including the British Open.

The weather was sparkling clear Thursday and even though the leaders said the 7,022-yard course was playing long, 17 players were under par at 71, or better, with six at par 72. Norman said he was rusty, adding that he didn’t have much enthusiasm after returning from Australia Dec. 18.

“I only started to hit balls a couple of days before I came here,” said Norman, who lives in Florida. “I think the players feel rusty. It’s the first time I’ve arrived on a Monday to see that the driving range was full.”

Azinger, 30, is picking up where he left off last year, when he had a second and two thirds in his final three tournaments to earn $320,650 for a month’s work.

“I had 17 top-15 finishes in 26 events, so I was knocking on the door a bunch,” he said. “And I know more about my golf swing. Now I’m trying to work on patience. That’s a missing ingredient for me.”

Stewart said that he played surprisingly well for the amount of preparation he has put into his game.

“I didn’t have any expectations about this week,” said Stewart, who estimated that he’d had about a six- or seven-week layoff.

He spent some of his leisure time skiing at Beaver Creek, Colo., with family and friends.

“I was strictly on the green slopes,” said Stewart, emphasizing his amateur status as a skier.

He also spent three days with sports psychologist Dick Coop, who has worked with him for about a year and a half.

Stewart said that Coop helps him with his pre-shot routine.

The lesson?

“The first shot on Thursday means as much as the last putt on Sunday,” Stewart said.

Stewart, who lost in a playoff to Tom Kite in the rich, season-ending Nabisco tournament last October at Hilton Head, S.C., said he isn’t setting any goals this year.

Baker-Finch had six birdies and two bogeys in his round of 66. Norman had eight birdies along with a double bogey on the par five, 526-yard second hole. Azinger had seven birdies and a bogey.

Steve Jones, the defending champion, had to settle for a par 72. Kite, the leading money-winner in 1989, shot a 73, and Curtis Strange, the two-time U.S. Open champion, had a 71.

Mark Calcavecchia, the British Open champion, was in range of the leaders with a 70.

Norman, the Great White Shark, plays on both the U.S. and Australian tours.

The 1980s were both rewarding and frustrating for him.

He lost the British Open last year in a playoff with Calcavecchia and Wayne Grady.

He lost the 1986 PGA championship when Bob Tway holed his bunker shot on the final hole.

He lost the 1987 Masters in another playoff when Larry Mize sank a 140-foot chip shot on the second extra hole.

As for the 1990s, the 34-year-old Norman said: “I’m glad the 1980s are over. It’s a lot easier to throw away a decade in the mind than it is to throw away a week, a shot, or a month, or whatever.

“Turning in the ‘90s seems like a breath of fresh air. You’re looking down a clearer tunnel than some of things that happened in the ‘80s.

“I feel I’m playing on the back nine of my career now. When the year 2000 comes around, it will be my decision to head off to the senior tour, or say, ‘Hey’, I’ve had enough of golf.’

“But I’m excited about the next 10 years.”