Turner’s Turn at Turnberry : British Open: Little-known New Zealander holes out a two-iron for his second eagle and leads with a 65.

Welcome to the 123rd British Open, where your first-round leader is Greg Turner, a New Zealand no-name who misses the cut at the Masters--the Turespana Masters--but holes a two-iron for an eagle Thursday at Turnberry’s Ailsa Course . . . in the rain . . . in the wind . . . on statistically the toughest course in the tournament rotation.

His five-under-par 65 put him one stroke ahead of Jonathan Lomas, the 26-year-old son of an English chicken farmer. This is the same Lomas who counted his pence so closely that he slept in his car during trips to tournaments in France.

And just behind Lomas is American Andrew Magee, who was born in Paris, moved to Tripoli, then London and then, of course, to Farmer’s Branch, Tex. After checking in with a three-under 67, the goateed-Magee declined to detail the recent changes in his swing mechanics, but he did discuss his intentions to buy a bagpipe and his fondness for whistling.

This isn’t exactly the leader board that tournament officials had in mind, but then again, it’s early. Everyone knows that, especially Turner.

“The British Open is littered with people, unknowns who disappear,” said Turner, who has missed the cut here three of five times. “If we’re still having this chat on Saturday night, it might be different.”

Don’t count on it, not with the cast of thousands lurking below. Eleven players, among them John Daly and five-time British Open champion Tom Watson, shot two-under-par 68s. Sixteen players, most notably U.S. Open champion Ernie Els and Nick Price, winner of the 1992 PGA Championship, sit comfortably at one under. And if Turner keeps looking over his shoulder he’ll see 36 others within six strokes of the lead.

The one to watch is defending champion Greg Norman, who squeezed out a one-over 71 on a day when his swing was so-so and the weather was oh-no--blustery in the morning, downpour stricken in the afternoon. Still, Norman slogged through it, announcing afterward that he thought little of all those red numbers on the board.

“A lot of guys are two under,” he said. “That means nothing, absolutely nothing.”

No surprise there. Norman remembers his victory here in 1986. His first-round score: 75.

Not everyone was so quick to dismiss the day’s round, however. Watson loved his 68. He’d take it Thursday, today, Saturday and Sunday, if it could be arranged. That’s eight under, good enough by Watson’s calculations to win the tournament and tie Harry Vardon for most British Open titles.

However, there was one disclaimer. “I think seven to 12 under par will win,” he said. “Unless we get a real calm day.”

Moments later, Watson’s interview was interrupted by a steady thumping on the interview tent.

“Rain?” said Watson. “Oh, that’s too bad.”

Watson teed off at 7:35 a.m., which isn’t exactly the nicest way to treat a five-time champion. Bleary-eyed from a semi-sleepless night, Watson failed to take advantage of the downwind front nine but recovered nicely on the much more difficult back nine.

“I had cobwebs in my head all morning,” said Watson, who was finally lulled to sleep by the World Cup late-show, Italy vs. Bulgaria. “Still do.”

Today should be better. He tees off at a more reasonable 12:05, when the sun is supposed to make an appearance. Unfortunately, so is the wind.

As usual, the day’s events were shaped by the arrival of an afternoon storm. Norman saw it come in from the Firth of Clyde and made a beeline for his rain gear. He wasn’t crazy about his 71, but it could have been worse.

For instance, he could have been Ian Woosnam, the former Masters champion who shot a 79. Or Phil Mickelson, who had a 78. Or Nick Faldo, the three-time British Open champion who shot a 75.

Faldo earned knucklehead honors by hitting the wrong ball on his second shot at No. 17, a 498-yard par-five that had been giving up birdies all day. Instead of leaving the hole at two over for the round--one over if he makes a birdie--Faldo stalked off with the dreaded Frosty the Snowman: an eight. Two-stroke penalties can do that.

“Yes,” said Faldo. “It was not very clever.”

As Faldo staggered to his 75, Turner was playing . . . well, the way Faldo used to. Turner birdied the par-three sixth, eagled the par-five seventh and then, as the weather worsened and the BBC cameras began moving his way, he recorded two more birdies and one more eagle in the last five holes.

He got the second eagle on No. 16, a 410-yard par four. Left with 178 yards after his drive, Turner took a two-iron and then asked his caddie, “This isn’t too much club, is it?”

The caddie checked the wind again and said, “No, it’s perfect.”

A swing and one bounce later, Turner’s ball dipped into the cup.

“Sounds easy, doesn’t it,” Turner said.

Sounds easy now. But it’s early.