Mediate Halfway to 1st Tour Victory : Pebble Beach golf: After 36 holes, he’s tied with Gilder and Stewart, but feeling the pressure.

Rocco Mediate, who took up golf at the advanced age of 16, didn’t have a clue to what the PGA Tour was all all about in his first three years of competition.

Now, in his fifth year, Mediate is feeling more comfortable. That was underscored Friday when he shot a four-under-par 68 at Pebble Beach to share the second-round lead in the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a couple of more experienced players, Payne Stewart and Bob Gilder.

They’re grouped at 137, with Tom Kite, Jim Thorpe, Bobby Wadkins and John Cook only one stroke behind.

Rocco Anthony Mediate, 27, is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound pro from Greensburg, Pa. His name, build and hometown would suggest that he’s a heavyweight “contendah,” like Rocky Balboa.

But Mediate is just trying to survive, and hoping he can keep it going to win his first tour event.

On a gorgeous day, in sunshine and minimal wind on the Monterey Peninsula, Mediate had five birdies and only one bogey.

Starting on the 10th hole at Pebble, he felt definitely in the tournament when he birdied the 14th hole.

“I knew there was pressure, even though it’s only day two,” he said. “I’m sure if I stay in the same position and keep going, there will be a lot more, but I’ll look forward to it instead of being a little afraid of it like I used to be.”

Mediate, who has been on the tour since 1986, has come close to winning only once, finishing second in the Chattanooga tournament in 1987.

“People have asked me where I would like to win if I had a choice,” he said. “This (tournament) would probably be my first or second choice, no question, because these are the most difficult courses we play all year.

“After two rounds, only seven under par is leading the tournament. That would be 10 to 12 (under par) at other places.”

Stewart, who held the first-round lead with a 66, shot a 71 at Spyglass Hill; Gilder had a 69 at Pebble Beach.

Mark O’Meara, the defending champion who was only one shot behind Stewart Thursday, had a 73 at Pebble for a 140 total, going over par with a triple bogey on the par-four, 397-yard 15th hole.

Mediate was a baseball pitcher in high school until he tore ligaments in his right shoulder as a teen-ager. He turned to golf and attended Florida Southern, where he won only one tournament as a collegian.

He has had moderate success on the tour, earning an average of $124,000 the past three years.

“It took me three years to even know what the hell was going on out there,” Mediate said of the tour. “Now, things should happen. I should feel more comfortable, like today.

“When I came out here, I was behind the times. These guys were shooting 20, 21, 22 and 23 under par. I didn’t even know what that means.”

Mediate said his best four-round score is 13 under par, and he figures that would put him in contention on the courses here, especially if the weather turns nasty.

Today, he moves over to Cypress Point, of which he has some unpleasant memories--namely the par-four, 393-yard 17th hole.

“I have a little debt to settle with that hole tomorrow,” he said. “I made an eight there last year, and I was only one shot out of the lead going into that hole. The best score I’ve ever made there was a six, and this is my fifth time. I have nothing to lose.”

Mediate has become friends with a more famous native of Pennsylvania, Arnold Palmer.

He said that he first met Palmer when he was 19 and a friend set up a game with him in Latrobe.

“There he was, standing on the tee, and I kind of froze,” Mediate recalled. “But about two minutes later, he was like one of the guys.

“I shot three under that day, and he shot two under. He asked me if I was considering turning pro, even though I wasn’t very good then. We keep in touch as much as we can.”

Gilder has six tour victories in 14 years of competition but hasn’t won since 1983.

The former Arizona State player had six birdies and three bogeys in his round at Pebble.

Like Mediate, Gilder will play at Cypress today, and he said it’s his least favorite of the three courses. He is especially wary of the par-three 16th, the treacherous 231-yard carry over the ocean.

“Of all the years I’ve played this golf course--not so much anymore--16 is the only hole where I stand on the tee and the blood goes out of my legs. My legs felt like rubber for so many years.”

Gilder respects the hole more than any other on the tour.

“That hole is such a potential disaster. You can be there all day sometimes. You either hit a good shot, or you’re history.”

Gilder said the closest he has come to winning here was in 1983, when Kite won.

“I was standing on the last tee and I thought Tom had four shots on me,” he said. “I doubled (double-bogeyed) the last hole and finished fourth. It ended up that Tom was caving in and I was only one behind him at the time.”

So, Gilder has a score to settle at Pebble.

As for Mediate, a win, any win would do.