GOLF : Pinehurst Not Kind to the Rich

Davis Love III escaped with a share of the lead, but Pinehurst picked the pockets of golf’s other millionaires Thursday in the first round of the season-ending Tour Championship.

Not only did the famed old No. 2 course in North Carolina send Nick Price and John Cook plummeting to the bottom of the elite field, it so confused Fred Couples that he resorted to cross-handed desperation putting.

The four $1-million winners were not alone in their misadventures.

There was Tom Kite, the U.S. Open champion needing a victory in this $2-million event to have a shot at player-of-the-year honors, slashing and thrashing his way to a two-over-par 73 and topping only four in the field of 30 leading money-winners.

Paul Azinger managed a 70, remarkable in that he birdied two of the last three holes . . . while putting with his wedge. He bent his putter with a sharp rap to the ground after missing a short putt on the 11th.

Love, one of the four millionaires vying for most of the game’s season-long honors, hung on for a 68, despite a three-putt bogey on the final hole.

He was tied with Keith Clearwater, who had his customary hot opening round. Clearwater has had opening scores of 68 or better in 12 of 32 starts this year--and has not won.

Defending champion Craig Stadler and David Frost were a stroke back at 69.

In addition to Azinger, those at 70 included Greg Norman, John Huston, Duffy Waldorf, Lee Janzen, Tom Lehman and Brad Faxon.

The other end of the standings contained much more impressive names: Kite and Couples at 73, Price, Cook and Corey Pavin at 74. Only David Peoples, at 75, was higher.

“I had a fun day. Freddie didn’t have a fun day,” said Love, who played with his close friend in the final twosome. Couples left without talking to reporters.

“He didn’t look comfortable with his driving,” Love said of Couples, “and this is not a course to be uncomfortable with your driver.”