Comfortable Woods Shoots a Record 61

Tiger Woods took a home-course advantage to amazing extremes on the first day of the Pacific 10 Conference Men’s Golf Championships on Monday at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach.

Woods, a sophomore at Stanford and an honorary member of Big Canyon, shot an 11-under-par 61, breaking the course record by five strokes. But Woods was only getting started.

In the afternoon, he had a seven-under 65, leaving him at 18-under 126, 14 strokes ahead of Arizona State’s Scott Johnson with two days and two rounds remaining.

Still, Stanford is in second place, 12 strokes behind Arizona State, which stands at par 720. Stanford is six strokes ahead of USC.

The team competition was an afterthought to most of those who followed the threesome of Woods, USC’s Brian Hull and UCLA’s Michael Miller. The gallery of about 100 swelled to more than 200 as the day progressed.

Woods was clearly in his element. A “Go Tiger” sign hung from the balcony from a house overlooking the 18th green.

“I feel so comfortable here,” Woods said. “I know a lot of these people.”

Woods also said it helped that he knows the course. He was given an honorary membership four years ago after winning his second U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and said he plays the course as often as he can when he is at his Cypress home. “I know where to miss,” he said. “That helps.”

Woods, twice the U.S. Amateur champion, started the day by chipping in from the fringe for a birdie on the first hole, and then made birdie on five of the next six holes, including Nos. 4-7. He was landing the ball so close, putts were usually a mere formality. One putt was from 12 feet, the rest were within four.

“It was really amazing,” said Hull, who shot 69-74 and is tied for fourth. “I’ve played with him before, but I’ve never seen him play like that.

“It seemed like he was playing a pitch-and-putt out there.”

After shooting 30 on the front nine, Woods birdied the 10th hole, bogeyed the 11th and birdied the 12th and the 14th.

Then on the 568-yard, par-five 16th, Woods hit a three-wood approach shot 242 yards to eight feet from the hole and made the eagle putt to go 10-under.

After a par on 17, Woods hit his third shot on the par-five, 551-yard 18th to within six feet and made the putt. As the ball rolled in, he threw two roundhouse punches into the air, punctuating them with a loud yell.

Woods’ previous best score in competition was a 62 in the 1994 Southern California Golf Assn. Championship. But that was on a par-70 course, Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights.