Pavin Blows Into the Lead : Golf: Former UCLA star shoots a 64 in the wind and holds a three-stroke advantage over Couples.

It didn’t take Corey Pavin long to sort out his mixed feelings after shooting a seven-under-par 64 Friday at Riviera Country Club.

Pavin said it might have been the best round of his life, considering the difficulty of the course under cool and windy conditions.

At 11-under-par 131, he has a three-stroke lead over Fred Couples, who shot his second 67, through 36 holes of the $1-million Nissan Los Angeles Open. Kiyoshi Murota of Japan is third at 136 after shooting a 67.

But the bad news for Pavin, a former UCLA star, is that he will be playing in the final group today, which means he will probably miss at least the first half of the UCLA-Washington State basketball game at Pauley Pavilion.

“Can’t do anything about that now,” Pavin said. “Outside of the majors, this would be my favorite tournament to win. I have always loved this course ever since watching my first tournament here when I was in (Oxnard) high school.”

Pavin is looking forward to playing head to head with Couples, a gallery favorite at Riviera, but he knows it’s too early to start thinking about only one opponent.

Although the wind took its toll on the leader board, there are still several experienced players at Riviera capable of making a run.

Chip Beck, who won this event in 1988, shot a 71 and is tied at 137 with Craig Stadler, who shot a 69.

First-round leader Tom Purtzer, also a former champion, eagled the first hole, then struggled and shot a 74 that left him sixth at 138.

Hal Sutton, who won the 1983 PGA Championship at Riviera, shot a 68 and is tied with four others at 139.

It is unlikely anyone will come from any farther back to catch the leaders unless they vastly exceed their play on the first two days.

“Being the leader is no big deal after the second round,” said Couples, who was already eight under when Pavin started his round. “But it is exciting. I always feel like I have a chance to win here. Part of it is the fans; they really make a lot of noise.”

Pavin’s gallery was pretty vocal, too.

They had a lot to yell about. Starting on the back nine, Pavin birdied the first three holes, then did the same on the first three holes of the front nine. He added his other birdie at the seventh hole with a 12-foot putt.

He had only 20 putts.

“That was the second time I’ve shot a 64 on this course,” Pavin said. “The other time was in 1985, the year Lanny Wadkins won by seven strokes, but this was a much better round because the conditions were so much more difficult.

“The wind was not only strong, it was blowing from the northeast, which is opposite of what it usually is.”

The key to his success was his iron shots.

“I can’t ever remember hitting so many good irons,” Pavin said. “I hit every single iron at the flag today. That’s the first time that’s ever happened.”

Couples was one of the few other players succeeding in the wind on a day when only nine players broke par and the field average was 74.55.

“I was really happy with the way I managed the wind,” he said. “You have to be thrilled any time to shoot 67-67 at Riviera.”

Golf Notes

Although Craig Stadler hasn’t won since the World Series of Golf in 1992, he emerged from a slump with four top-four finishes last year. He earned $110,357 in his first 19 tournaments, then added $443,226 in the last five. “I don’t lose any sleep over not winning in a year in a half,” Stadler said. “I went seven years without winning from ’74 to ‘81, so I sort of got used to it. But I started playing well at the end of last year and I’m still playing pretty well.”

It took a score of four-over-par 146 or better to make the cut, and 75 players made it. Among those who missed were Jack Nicklaus (150) and his son Gary Nicklaus (147), Lanny Wadkins (148) and his brother Bobby Wadkins (149), U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen (147) and 1987 L.A. Open champion T.C. Chen (148). . . . Defending champion Tom Kite again shot a 72 and is far back at 144.

* A NEW GAME PLAN

After winning at Pebble Beach last week, television commentator Johnny Miller says he hopes to play in the Memorial and U.S. Open. C4