Ill Winds Blow at Torrey Pines

Winter, or at least what passes for one in this usually temperate zone, has arrived just in time for today’s start of the $900,000 Shearson Lehman Hutton Open.

And one trip around Torrey Pines Golf Course during Wednesday’s pro-am showed that, despite sunny skies, the change in weather could mean trouble for the 156 golfers who usually turn this annual tournament into one of the easiest scoring stops on the PGA Tour.

As blustery winds--close to 35 m.p.h. with a temperature that barely got over 50--blew off the Pacific Ocean, spectators huddled in small groups, trying to fend off the gusts. The golfers dressed in layers: long johns, bulky sweaters and rain suits. A few donned wooly pullover caps more suited to the slopes than the links.

This was the kind of a day that helped put the eastward lean into the indigenous torrey pines that dot the seaside course.

“Something hot feels good,” said Payne Stewart as he entered the interview room, spooning into a bowl of soup. “It’s a bit brisk out there.”

It wasn’t so biting that Stewart abandoned his trademark knickers but windy enough that it could influence the way the tournament will be played.

“The wind is affecting the tee shots,” Fred Couples said. “I was hitting a lot more one-irons and three-woods to the green. If it stays windy like this and the greens dry up, it is going to be very tough.”

That would be a major departure.

Last year’s winner, Greg Twiggs, shot a four-round total of 271, 17 under par, as the first 38 finishers were within eight strokes of each other. Couples said he is not expecting that kind of scoring if the weather continues as it has.

“I’m not saying that someone isn’t going to shoot a 64 or 65,” said Couples, who finished in a four-way tie for 12th last year at 276. “But he will have a big lead instead of being one shot ahead like usual here.”

The field also might have something to do with that. It is not the strongest that has contested the tournament in its 23 years at Torrey Pines.

Only two of the 10 leading money winners from the 1989 PGA Tour--No. 2 Stewart and No. 6 Tim Simpson--are entered. And arguably its biggest draw, two-time champion Tom Watson, withdrew late last week for personal reasons.

But in this golfing era of spreading the wealth, there are plenty of other winners to go around. Twenty five champions of tour events in 1989 and 1990 are entered, including Twiggs and three--rookie Robert Gamez (Tucson), Tommy Armour III (Phoenix) and Mark O’Meara of Escondido (Pebble Beach)--from the first six tour events this year.

Twiggs, the former San Diego State player, is the most recent of a group of 10 returning former champions at Torrey Pines, including the past seven winners. Twiggs’ victory was his first on the tour and worth $126,000, more than he had made in his first four years on the tour.

And if a recent trend holds, chances are reasonable for another first-time winner. Three of the first six tour events this year were won by first-timers--Gamez, Armour and David Ishii Sunday at the Hawaiian Open.

Unlike most stops on the tour, the field is split over two courses for the first two days as the players alternate rounds between the North and South courses. The final two days are played exclusively on the South.

One of the keys to the title has been a low score on the North Course. Both courses are par 72, but the North at 6,659 yards is 362 yards shorter than the South. Couples said, however, that the weather also could play havoc with that traditional strategy, although winds are expected to diminish somewhat today.

“Usually you have to shoot a 68 on the North Course or you lose ground, but it won’t be that way this year,” he said.

Another key for players is to not let the general condition of the course disturb their often-fragile psyches. Having grown finicky from a steady stream of tournaments played mostly on exclusive country-club courses, the pros wince a bit when it comes time to play Torrey Pines, one of two municipal courses on the 44-stop PGA Tour (the other is En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott, N.Y., site of the B.C. Open).

The greens are not as smooth, the rough not as lush and the fairways not as well groomed as most tour courses. It’s one of those things the pros like to talk about when they come to Torrey Pines, and maybe one of the reasons several of the bigger names skip it each year.

Even given that, some players are finding conditions better than what they have been used to here.

“It’s not country-club plush,” Couples said. “You miss the fairway, and you’ll get some nasty lies. But there is a lot of grass on the greens, and that is what the players like.”

Tournament Notes

Mark O’Meara withdrew from the pro-am because of a stiff neck, one of his partners said. But tournament officials said Wednesday night that O’Meara remained in the field for today’s start and that no changes have been reported in the field since Monday. . . . The pro-am events were won by the teams of Mark Wiebe with a 53 on the North Course and Mark Lye with a 55 on the South Course. Lye’s team included San Diego residents Richard Keyser and Charlie Lyon. Gary Koch had the low score on the North Course with a 66. David Ogrin and Buddy Gardner shared low on the South with 69s.

SHEARSON LEHMAN HUTTON OPEN FACTS

What: 38th annual PGA Tour event in San Diego, fifth year event has been sponsored by Shearson Lehman Hutton.

Where: 23rd year at Torrey Pines, 7,021-yard, par-72 South Course and 6,659-yard, par-72 North Course.

Format: 72 holes of medal play, today through Sunday. Field reduced to lowest 70 scores and ties for final two rounds, to be played exclusively on South Course.

When: Thursday, Friday tee times 10 a.m.; Saturday, Sunday tee times 8:30 a.m.

Tickets: General admission, at gate only, $15 daily, $50 for all four days. Juniors (17 and under), $2 daily. Seniors (60 and over), $7.50 on Thursday and Friday only (proof of age required).

Television: Ch. 39 will carry the final two rounds, Saturday from 1:30-3 p.m. and Sunday from 1-3 p.m.

Purse: $900,000, including $162,000 for first, $97,200 for second and $61,200 for third.

Defending champion: Greg Twiggs, who played collegiately at San Diego State, shot a three-under-par 69 on the final day for a four-round total of 17-under 271, two shots ahead of four players.

Tournament record: 266 (63-68-70-65), 22 under, by George Burns in 1987. First round on North Course, remaining three on South.

Money leaders (22 tournaments): Tom Watson, $158,966.48; J.C. Snead, $144,549.79; Gary Hallberg, $138.709.42; Jay Haas, $137,383.83; Steve Pate, $132,880.42; Greg Twiggs, $126,000; George Burns, $118,791.71; Gary Koch, $112,003.47; Raymond Floyd, $105,571.34; Tom Kite, $101,953.40.

Previous winners (at Torrey Pines): Tom Weiskopf (1968), Jack Nicklaus (1969), Pete Brown (1970), George Archer (1971), Paul Harney (1972), Bob Dickson (1973), Bobby Nichols (1974), J.C. Snead (1975, 1976), Tom Watson (1977, 1980), Jay Haas (1978), Fuzzy Zoeller (1979), Bruce Lietzke (1981), Johnny Miller (1982), Gary Hallberg (1983), Gary Koch (1984), Woody Blackburn (1985), Bob Tway (1986), George Burns (1987), Steve Pate (1988), Greg Twiggs (1989).