The Desert Is Full of Birdies : Golf: Under perfect conditions, Rummells takes two-shot lead with 63.

Dave Rummells has struggled on the PGA Tour in recent years, but on an ideal day in the desert Wednesday, his game was suddenly revived.

Rummells shot a nine-under-par 63 at the Palmer course at PGA West to take a two-stroke lead in the opening round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

He equaled the tournament course record set by David Edwards in 1989.

The Palmer course is considered the most difficult in the four-course rotation--Palmer, Tamarisk, Indian Wells and Bermuda Dunes.

With the temperature in the 70s and very little wind, the Palmer course was relatively defenseless.

“When you have perfect weather, the birdies will come,” Rummells said. “I got a break because this is the toughest course.”

Mark Hayes, Nolan Henke and Donnie Hammond, all playing at Indian Wells, each recorded 65 to share second place.

John Cook, the defending champion, who played with Bob Hope, former President Gerald Ford and actor Joe Pesci, shot a 66 at Bermuda Dunes.

Rummells said that he usually gets off to a slow start in the Hope tournament, adding that he has not finished better than ninth here.

He reversed that procedure Wednesday.

Putting was the key to his round. He had seven birdies and an eagle and said that the putts ranged in distance from four to 10 feet.

However, he said that putting betrayed him last year when he lost his tour card and had to qualify again.

“This year I set a goal that if I could make 50% of my putts from four to 10 feet I could score a lot better,” Rummells said.

Rummells said he missed two greens Wednesday but saved par with six-foot putts.

He started on the 10th hole and had four birdies for his front nine. Then, on the 512-yard second hole, he got his eagle with a three-wood shot that landed nine feet from the cup, from where he made his putt.

It wasn’t the lowest score of his career. He said he shot 61s at Chattanooga in 1990 and 1991.

Rummells is using a new putter. He says he has been slow to switch, playing with only four in his entire career.

Rummells, 35, joined the tour in 1986 and has never finished higher than third place.

He has had to go to qualifying school three times, including 1992.

“It’s very disappointing, but I’ve been through it before,” Rummells said. “I didn’t get down on myself.”

Rummells earned $95,203 last year while finishing 134th on the money list. The first-place purse here is $198,000.

Hayes, 43, has been on the tour since 1973 but has not won since the Tournament Players Championship in 1977. He had eight birdies and a bogey in his round at Indian Wells, considered the easiest of the four courses.

“If the weather stays like this, someone will be flirting with the tournament record,” Hayes said.

Corey Pavin and Mark O’Meara hold the record for the five-day tournament with a 90-hole score of 331 in 1991.

Pavin beat O’Meara in a playoff that year, and there have been eight playoffs in the past 11 years.

Hayes said he played badly last week and missed the cut at Pebble Beach.

“I got the rust off today,” he said.

Tom Kite, the U.S. Open champion, shot a 67 at Bermuda Dunes and said he played a solid round.

With the weather so mild, and the courses yielding birdies, it was suggested to Kite that someone might shoot a record-equaling 59 before the tournament ends.

“I don’t think there will be any 59s,” Kite said. “When you get to that 10-under level, you start choking your guts out and you run out of holes.”

Low scores were common in the first round. Twenty-six players shot rounds of 67 or better.

Ten players recorded 66s, including Cook, Curtis Strange, Craig Stadler, Jay Haas and Rick Fehr.

Fehr, who was in a five-man playoff here last year, played his round at the Palmer Course.

“There is nothing to stop a guy from scoring well here,” he said. “Good shots are rewarded, and you have flat greens.”

Golf Notes

Odds are against first-round leaders winning the Hope. In 33 tournaments, only two players have led wire-to-wire, Rik Massengale in 1977 and Bruce Lietzke in 1981. . . . Fred Couples, the 1992 player of the year, shot a 68 at Bermuda Dunes. . . . Davis Love III had a 70 at Tamarisk, a score that was matched by Mark O’Meara at the same course. Corey Pavin also had a 70 at Bermuda Dunes.

Leaders Dave Rummells 63 Mark Hayes 65 Nolan Henke 65 Donnie Hammond 65 10 are tied at 66