GOLF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AMATEUR : Clark Takes Five-Shot Lead After Marathon First Day

At 44, Bob Clark is not crazy about golf tournaments in which he has to play 36 holes in a day.

He says veterans such as himself can “die sometimes on the last few holes.”

Clark looked anything but aging Friday, shooting a five-under-par 135 to take the lead in the 92nd Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship at Bel-Air Country Club.

Defending champion Pat Duncan of Rancho Sante Fe and Craig Steinberg of Van Nuys are tied for second at even-par on the 6,482-yard course.

The field has been cut from 90 to 32 players for 18-hole rounds today and Sunday. Play begins at 8 this morning and 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

“We got a great break today because of the cool weather,” said Clark, who lives in Murrieta and plays at the Bear Creek Golf Club. “Last year at this tournament (at the Wilshire Country Club) it was 100 degrees and I was dying. Today I whizzed around like I kid. I guess the true test will come this weekend.”

A title would be fitting for Clark, who after promising play in college struggled with his game and played very little for 10 years.

Clark won the NCAA Division I title as a junior at Cal State Los Angeles in 1969. He finished 13th as a senior.

He turned pro in 1970 but had little success and gave up his card in ’72. He got back on the professional tour in 1977-78 but became frustrated and quit. From 1979-88, Clark said, he played fewer than half a dozen rounds of golf a year.

With a booming mortgage banking business in Orange, Clark felt a return to golf would make his life more well-rounded. He was granted amateur status in 1983 and began playing seriously in ’89.

“I’m enjoying the game much more now than I have in a long time,” he said. “When I go out and play now, I believe I have a chance to win. That makes it so much more exciting. When I was a pro, I didn’t have that same feeling. I felt lucky just to qualify for a tournament then.”

Clark shot a 68 in the first round and 67 in the second Friday. An eagle on the par-five first hole in the second round set the pace.