Experience Pays for Stewart, O’Meara : Pebble Beach golf: Players show form in first round that has given them success in the past on Monterey Peninsula.

A year ago, Payne Stewart had to withdraw after the first round of the AT & T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am because of painful back problems.

Thursday, Stewart, the second-leading money winner on the PGA Tour in 1989, shot a six-under-par 66 at Cypress Point for the first-round lead in the Pebble Beach tournament.

What a difference a year makes.

Stewart says there isn’t a better place in the world to play than on the Monterey Peninsula courses used for the tournament: Pebble Beach, Cypress Point and Spyglass Hill.

His enjoyment was evident on a day when Cypress Point dried out somewhat after an early morning rain.

Stewart also is experienced at playing here, having finished second twice in the tournament the last four years.

So it wasn’t surprising that another player with lots of experience here, Mark O’Meara, was only one shot behind Stewart.

O’Meara, the defending champion who also won here in 1985, shot a 67, five under, at Spyglass, generally regarded as the most difficult of the three courses.

Stan Utley, Jim Woodward, Jim Thorpe and Bob Gilder were tied for third at 68.

“I’m excited about being here,” Stewart said. “It’s one of those stops on the tour where I feel I can play well. I enjoy the weather and the courses, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s windy, cold, or raining, or sunny like it was today.

“It’s fun golf. You have to be patient. You have to be able to hit different kinds of golf shots. It challenges us--and I enjoy that.”

Others may not share Stewart’s enthusiasm, but obviously he doesn’t have any mental hangups about playing here.

After Stewart withdrew here in 1989, he consulted Frank Jobe, the noted Los Angeles orthopedic specialist.

Jobe told Stewart that he had three degenerative disks in his back.

“He said, ‘There is no operation I can do for you right now that’s going to make you any better,’ ” Stewart said. “He said that through exercise, rehabilitation and losing some weight I could be able to play. If I didn’t do that he said my back problems would continue to get worse.”

Stewart heeded the advice and had his best year on the tour in 1989, earning $1,201,301 and winning two tournaments, most notably the PGA championship.

In Thursday’s play, Stewart had seven birdies and only one bogey. He also birdied a hole that has customarily treated him badly, the par-four, 393-yard 17th.

“I’ve made a bunch of sixes there in the past,” he said. “I thought that if I got under six there I would be satisfied.”

He got his birdie with a 12-foot putt.

Although the weather was favorable, Stewart wouldn’t mind if it turned nasty.

He figures that would eliminate a lot of players who don’t have the skill required for the three courses in bad weather.

Stewart and O’Meara stressed that patience is a key in playing the courses here.

“Par isn’t bad on any of the holes,” Stewart said.

Stewart jokingly said that he had to hold up his amateur partner, “Some L. A. pitcher.”

He was referring to the Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser.

“Orel was trying too hard at first,” Stewart said. “He’s such an intense competitor. Once he started to relax, he began to play better.”

Stewart and Hershiser are only two shots out of the lead in the team competition with a net 65.

O’Meara, who had seven birdies and two bogeys, made two birdie putts from 35 feet.

As the defending champion, O’Meara said he likes his position.

“I look at my past memories here as positive ones. I realize I’ve been very fortunate in this tournament, and I realize it’s difficult to defend any championship,” he said. “But I’m not putting any extra pressure on myself.

“I know no matter what happens in the future, my name is on a plaque out there. It’s hard enough to win once, but to win twice I take a lot of pride in that.

“I know these golf courses. I’ve played them for so many years now. I have a feeling I know the greens pretty well.

“And I know if you shoot around par, or a couple under, you’ll have a good score.”

O’Meara was teamed with his 61-year-old father, Robert, and he said his dad struggled a bit. They had a net score of 66.

Like Stewart, he wouldn’t mind if the weather turned a bit nasty for the remaining three rounds.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the wind blow a little bit,” he said. “I’d like to see the course play as hard as possible.”

Golf Notes

Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Kite and Raymond Floyd each shot 69. . . . Jack Nicklaus, who was four under par at one time, wound up with a par 72. . . . Jim Thorpe, who had a 68, is making a comeback after surgery on his left wrist and thumb in 1987. Thorpe, who turned 41 Thursday, finished second last week in the Phoenix Open and had an eagle Thursday. He chipped in from 40 feet on the par-five, 548-yard second hole at Cypress Point.