Fehr, Eastwood Roll to 65s : Golf: Putting is the difference for those who post the lowest scores in the first round at Torrey Pines.

The Shearson Lehman Hutton Open historically is a golf tournament ruled by scores far under par, in which two strokes can mean a difference of not just one place but several.

Putting takes on added importance in this atmosphere, the shortest shot making a big difference.

No wonder so many of the 13 players bunched within two shots of the lead after Thursday’s opening round gave credit to their putters, starting with co-leaders Rick Fehr and Bob Eastwood.

Both shot seven-under-par 65s on the North Course at Torrey Pines after solving recent putting problems in different ways.

Fehr, six-year pro from Brigham Young, said a switch last week, to a putter styled like the one he used as a teen-ager, was the difference.

“I started getting the putter rolling and made a lot of good putts,” said Fehr. “If I had not putted so well, it would have been about a 68.”

Eastwood’s problem was more mechanics than mechanism. He said he has overhauled his putting completely--from stance to stroke.

“I’ve been playing well tee to green the last few years, but I have been frustrated with my putting,” said Eastwood, who slid to 139th on the earnings list last year, his lowest in 16 years on the tour. “I had too many bad habits. It’s been a major overhaul.”

The early results had to be encouraging for Eastwood, especially after he rolled in two long putts, a 50-footer for an eagle three on the 497-yard ninth and a 25-footer for birdie on the par-four 15th.

But Fehr and Eastwood were hardly alone. A rundown of the leader board found that there was a story about improved putting behind almost ever low round.

--Fred Couples, whose four-under 68 was second best on the longer South Course behind Jim Booros’ 67, credited a new alignment.

“I didn’t do it on the first nine holes,” he said. But he caught his mistake for the back nine, and the results included five birdie putts from between 15 and 30 feet.

--Mark O’Meara, whose 66 on the North Course left him in a five-way tie for second, one shot behind, said putting was the edge he needed. “I either made a real good shot or a mediocre-to-poor shot,” he said. “But I putted extremely well, and that is what made the round.”

--Doug Tewell said the difference was a radical departure from conventional tour wisdom. Tewell switched this week to a long putter similar to the one Orville Moody has helped popularize on the Senior Tour.

His reward was a 66 on the North Course and his best putting round of the young year.

“I just haven’t been the kind of putter I felt I should be,” Tewell said. “At Bob Hope (four weeks ago) I hit the ball as well as I ever have tee to green (in the final round) and finished over par.”

Tewell looked at tour statistics that showed him first in driving accuracy (.839) and tied for second in greens in regulation (.744) and knew exactly what his trouble was. But setting aside his traditional 34-inch putter and trying the longer club was not easy.

Tewell said he realizes some of his fellow tour members snicker at the unusual club length (46 inches) and call it an old man’s crutch. But at age 40 and coming off an 83rd-place showing on the money list, his lowest since 1981 (94th), he said he decided to make a bold move.

“I’m going to do anything I can to stay out here,” Tewell said.

So he went out and bought himself the 46-inch putter. “First club I’ve bought in 20 years, and the best $100 I ever spent,” Tewell said.

His only regret now is he didn’t try it sooner.

“The minute I saw that Orville Moody was leading the seniors in putting, I knew there was something to it,” Tewell said. “I think the verdict is still out, but I liked it (Thursday).”

He will be in for a tougher test today when the players switch North and South courses for the second round. With 12 of the top 13 scores coming on the North Thursday, and the winds remaining relatively calm, those putting strokes will mean even more to Fehr, Eastwood and the others near the lead.

“You save one shot a round with a putter, and it makes a lot of difference in a tournament,” Eastwood said.

Especially in this tournament.

Tournament Notes

Peter Persons, a rookie from Macon, Ga., whose father-in-law is the branch manager for Shearson Lehman Hutton there, scored a hole-in-one with a four-iron on the 183-yard, eighth hole on the South Course. He finished at 69. . . . Defending champion Greg Twiggs shot a one-over 73 on the North Course. . . . Of the 110 rounds shot at par 72 or better, 62 were on North Course, 48 on the South Course. The average score for the 78 players on the North Course was 70.295, for the 78 players on the South Course 72.051. . . . The field will be cut to the 70 lowest scores plus ties after today’s round for the final 36 holes Saturday and Sunday on the South Course. It was a rough day for the two amateurs in the field. Craig Anderson of Vista had a high round of 81 on the North Course; Kemp Richardson of Laguna Niguel had a 76 on the South Course.