Standly Takes His Game Up in More Ways Than One

A year ago, Mike Standly was playing in a Ben Hogan Tour event at Bakersfield. He made the cut but wasn’t anywhere near the leaders.

Standly moved north to play in another tournament Thursday and moved up considerably in competition. He shot a seven-under-par 65 on the Pebble Beach course to take the first-round lead in the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

It was a conspicuous day for some graduates of the Hogan circuit, those players aspiring to play on the regular PGA Tour. Jeff Maggert shot a 67 to tie four other players two shots behind; and John Daly, another newcomer, had a 68, along with five others, including Tom Kite.

However, John Cook and Brian Claar are, perhaps, in a better position than Standly. They each shot 66s on more difficult courses.

Cook’s round set a course record at Poppy Hills, the new layout in the three-course rotation, replacing Cypress Point.

Claar tied the course record at Spyglass Hill with his round and came close to breaking it until he got a bogey on the 18th hole, a par-four measuring 405 yards.

Mark O’Meara, who has won this event the past two years and in 1985, struggled at Poppy Hills on a slightly overcast day. He shot a one-over-par 73.

Standly, a 26-year-old resident of Houston who grew up in Abilene, Tex., had seven birdies without a bogey. He started on the 10th hole at Pebble Beach and maneuvered around the course as if he had played it all his life.

He had never seen Pebble Beach in person, much less played on it, until he had a practice round there Monday.

Standly said he played part of his practice round with Andy Bean, a tour veteran. “He told me where to hit it and where not to,” Standly said after his round of 32-33.

Last December, Standly finished 16th in the qualifying tournament that admitted him to the regular tour.

Playing a heavy schedule on the Ben Hogan Tour, 28 of 30 events, Standly said his experience wasn’t confined to golf. “I learned how to travel and how to act around a lot of people, and I matured a lot,” he said.

Standly said he shot a 61 at the Albuquerque (N.M.) Country Club, but under the circumstances, he allowed that his 65 Thursday at Pebble Beach was the best round of his life.

Today, he will play Poppy Hills, a course that has been criticized by several pros because of its huge, undulating greens, blind tee shots and bunkers spanning some fairways.

Standly said he played a practice round there and, when asked to evaluate it, said matter-of-factly: “It’s a good golf course.”

Asked if he was surprised to learn that Cook shot a 66 there, Standly said succinctly: “Not really.”

Cook said he played Poppy Hills for the first time and credited his caddie, Andy Martinez, with steering him safely around the course. “I was very fortunate; there was not a lot of guessing,” Cook said, adding that Martinez, who used to be Johnny Miller’s caddie, knew the course and scouted it for him. “He’s more prepared than anyone else, and he’s good at what he does.”

Some players have told horror stories about Poppy Hills, but Cook, with his six-birdie round, said: “They’re out there, but I just didn’t see them. There are definite places you don’t want it to be. If you get it going sideways quickly and off line, you’ll go a couple of fairways over.”

Cook, who won here in 1981 for the first of his three tour victories, said the pin placements were lenient Thursday, adding: “If they hadn’t been, we’d still be out there playing--and it still took us five hours to play.”

Claar, who has been on the tour since 1986, is seeking his first victory. And he isn’t looking forward to playing Poppy Hills Saturday.

“I told my caddie that I need to be 30 under par when we play Poppy,” Claar said. “I had an 81 there when I played in the Spaulding tournament (last December), but I played a little better there in a practice round.”

Cook doesn’t have to be concerned about Poppy any more. That’s a test for Claar--and Standly, who seemingly isn’t threatened by the new course on the block.

Golf Notes

Jack Nicklaus, who has won the Pebble Beach tournament three times, shot a two-under-par 70 at Poppy Hills. Arnold Palmer, playing here for the first time since 1980, had a 73 at Poppy, and Tom Kite’s 68 was recorded at the same course. Hale Irwin had a 69 at Poppy as did Payne Stewart. . . . Pro Jay Delsing and Jesse Yohanan were the pro-am leaders with a 58, 14 under par.