Steinberg Trips Over His Putter : Golf: He struggles on greens and falls 11 strokes behind SCGA leader Johnson with rounds of 73 and 79.

It was not a good day to be Craig Steinberg’s putter.

At first, he twirled it. He then tossed it over his head. As the day progressed, he whacked it with the palm of his hand.

Finally, in sheer frustration, he slammed the club head on a cart path.

What the heck. The darn thing deserved it.

Steinberg’s two-year reign as titlist of the Southern California Golf Assn. Championship appears in definite jeopardy after he lost a wrestling match with his putter Friday at Brentwood Country Club.

Steinberg, an optometrist from Van Nuys, fired rounds of 73 and 79 at Brentwood and fell 11 shots behind leader Mark Johnson of Barstow with 36 holes to play. Johnson’s two-round total of 141 gave him a two-shot lead over Brian Leff of Brea.

Steinberg managed a mere four one-putt holes on the day and missed more than a few opportunities to make a move on the leaders. Of his three birdies, two came on chip-ins. He limped home with a six-over-par 42 on the back nine of his second round, which included four missed putts from six feet or less.

Steinberg’s lag putts just wouldn’t fall. Now he lags behind much of the field.

“I’m a die putter,” Steinberg said. “I let it die into the hole. When the greens get slow and bumpy, that just doesn’t work.”

No question, he died a dozen deaths at the hands of the evil wand. Then again, he wasn’t the only area player to sputter.

Charlie Wi of Thousand Oaks, another pre-tournament favorite, shot 75 and 77 to leave him in a seven-way logjam at 152. Also at 152 were Gary Klahn of Canoga Park and Al D’Amato of Simi Valley.

D’Amato, a tournament graybeard at 53, surveyed the leader board as the scores were posted and couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.

“I could have kids older than almost all these guys,” he said.

By the end of the afternoon round, most of the field aged considerably. As Brentwood’s predictable on-shore breeze kicked up about noon, scores inflated with commensurate bluster.

Only Johnson, a 39-year-old who drives a beer truck, weathered the breeze. Then again, since he plays at wild-blown Sun Valley Golf Course, an unglamorous nine-hole track in Barstow, this was no big deal. “I was glad the wind came up,” Johnson said with a grin. “I can hit the knock-down shots.”

While Johnson did the knock-down, others did the drag-out. Ed Cuff of Temecula, the morning leader after a first-round 69, shot 76 in the afternoon.

Wi’s afternoon round included a triple-bogey on the fifth hole. As usual, the cheerful University of Nevada standout didn’t seem particularly worried about his less-than-lofty perch.

“I was the last guy (to make the cut) two years ago,” Wi said. “Then I shot 69-71 in the last two rounds and finished seventh. I’m not dead yet.”

Neither is Don Baker, an accountant from Canoga Park and one of Steinberg’s fellow members at Braemar Country Club. Baker, a former professional who regained his amateur status, shot a rock-steady 73-71 to leave him in a two-way tie for third place, three shots behind Johnson.

Mike Turner, a left-hander from Woodland Hills and a former L.A. City men’s champion, shot 75-76 to tie Tony Bordwell of Woodland Hills for the second-best mark among area players.

Three players with ties to Cal State Northridge also made the cut, led by Bordwell, an active player, and Turner, a Northridge alumnus.

Bordwell, an El Camino Real High graduate, bucked the trend with a 180-degree turn: His best round (74) came in the afternoon and left him at 151.

Sang Hyun of Glendale, assistant golf coach at Northridge, was at 153 and made the cut by a shot.

By the end of the day, Steinberg was left to wonder what it took to knock down a putt. “The pros, they’re not afraid to three-putt,” Steinberg said. “If they miss, they just come back the next week. I’m thinking as much about not three-putting as I am about making (the putt).”

Three players from the region missed the cut by one stroke: Corby Segal of Burbank, a former Northridge player, had five three-putts in his afternoon round and finished at 154. Phil Hurlbut of North Hollywood and Chad Holden of Thousand Oaks also shot 154.