GOLF / SHARK SHOOTOUT : Teamwork Works for Floyd and Elkington

Raymond Floyd took off his shoes, rubbed his feet, sighed, then talked at length about the importance of comfort.

“The key to the whole format is having a partner you’re comfortable with,” said Floyd, 53.

Floyd and partner Steve Elkington shot a 10-under-par 62 Friday in a best-ball format, claiming a share of the lead in the first round of the Franklin Funds Shark Shootout at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

They are tied with Mark Calcavecchia and Brad Faxon heading into today’s round, in which the 10 two-man teams will play an alternate-shot format. Sunday, the teams will play in a scramble, in which the best shot of each twosome is selected until the hole is completed.

Floyd and Elkington were paired in the event for the first time. In best-ball play, the golfer who records the lowest score on each hole applies that number toward the team total. Teamwork is always a factor--as it will be over the next 36 holes.

“I like playing with Steve,” Floyd said. “I like playing with him when we’re playing against each other.”

Their round was no great shakes in terms of consistency, but for Floyd and Elkington, 30, it was effective.

“We never had two chances for birdie on the same hole,” Elkington said. “It was either me or him.”

More often than not, one of them converted, which bodes well for today. In 1990, Floyd and partner Fred Couples shot a 57 in alternate-shot play and eventually won the tournament by five shots.

Tom Kite and Davis Love III, the defending champions, were a shot off the pace in a two-team tie at nine under, although both players felt there was room for improvement.

“I like our position,” Kite said, “especially since neither of us played very well. We were either pretty spectacular or pretty lousy.”

Kite gave the pair a lift when he knocked a four-iron to within 15 feet on the par-five 16th and made the putt for an eagle. Earlier, they had reeled off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch, starting with the par-four fourth.

Love, one of the tour’s longest hitters, also gave the gallery a thrill when he reached the fifth hole, a 534-yard par-five, with a driver and seven-iron.

“It was downwind,” he said, shrugging.

“It was also a fairly large drive,” Kite shot back.

Hale Irwin and Bruce Lietzke also were one shot back after racking up birdies on Nos. 12-16. Irwin’s birdie on the 15th, a 186-yard par three that serves as the course’s signature hole, was the highlight of the round.

Irwin’s tee shot hit one of the many boulders surrounding the green, ricocheted straight up into the air and came to rest 15 feet from the pin.

Paul Azinger, scheduled to be paired with Payne Stewart, was a last-minute scratch because of a bad back. He was replaced by John Cook. Cook and Stewart shot 66.

Nick Price and tournament host Greg Norman finished with a bogey and double bogey for a 67, the day’s second-worst round.