Pros Playing Watch the Birdie on Nature Walk in the Desert

Yes, it’s that time of year again here at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Time to torch these poor, defenseless little courses, lay waste to par, ravage the countryside and shoot such ridiculously low scores you can’t keep track of them without sonar.

If it gets any worse than Wednesday’s first round, they may be forced to take down the gallery ropes and replace them with some of that yellow crime-scene police tape.

Andrew Magee took the first-round lead when he shot a 63 at Indian Wells Country Club, which really took a pounding. Magee’s score is nine under par, but at least it took him all 18 holes to do it.

Afterward, Magee said he was really pleased he played Indian Wells, where Desi Arnaz was one of the original investors and where you probably could shoot in the 60s using a conga drum for a driver.

“If you’re gonna shoot low scores, this is the place to do it,” Magee said. “Everybody knows that.”

Brad Fabel and Steve Lowery probably know it too, especially after posting matching 64s at Indian Wells. That’s one shot behind Magee, which is also the place where Fred Couples found himself after his 64 at La Quinta.

Couples, who is using a new driver, brings it to the Palmer Course at PGA West today, where he will continue his game plan.

“You’ve got to just keep plugging along,” Couples said.

All in all, it was a great day to be a professional golfer, basically because 63 players in the field of 128 shot rounds in the 60s and 92 were under par.

Six are tied at seven under after opening with 65--Bruce Lietzke, Stewart Cink, David Duval, Pete Jordan, Bob Tway and Willie Wood.

Cink, who blistered Bermuda Dunes, is in only his second year on Tour, but that’s long enough to form an opinion about the courses on which the Hope is played.

“Nike Tour courses aren’t this easy,” he said. “These courses are short. They’re not designed for Tour events. They’re resort courses, basically.”

Then we can only hope you have a nice stay, Mr. Cink.

Actually, Cink has a point. Indian Wells measures only 6,478 yards, for instance. None of the four courses in the rotation is as long as 7,000 yards.

What this means is that the best players in the world are too good for these courses and that the Bob Hope is a five-day birdie bonanza.

The best philosophy to play this tournament is a simple one, according to Cink: “Add up the birdies. . . . That’s basically what you do around here.”

Cink ranked the four courses, the easiest first. Indian Wells, Bermuda Dunes, La Quinta, the Palmer Course. You take them as a whole and they mean only one thing to Cink and his peer group.

“There are some birdies out there,” he said. “You’d better make a pile of ‘em.”

That’s exactly what John Cook did last year when he closed with rounds of 62-63 and won with a total of 33 under par. In 1993, Tom Kite won at 35 under par, a PGA Tour record in a 90-hole event.

David Toms proved to be a realist in spikes after he turned in a 66.

“I may be first now, but I’ll be 10th by the end of the day,” he said.

Make that 11th. Toms is tied with John Daly, Fuzzy Zoeller, Steve Jones, Scott Gump, Neal Lancaster, Blaine McCallister, Jay Haas and Franklin Langham.

Magee, 35, hasn’t won since 1994, but he was a runner-up twice last year and made nearly $800,000. He started quickly, with birdies on three of the first four holes, and made the turn in 29.

Because it was his first competitive round in six weeks, Magee was sort of surprised the way things turned out. But then, that’s not so unusual for him.

“I really didn’t have a clue what was going to happen,” he said. “But then, I never know what’s going to happen anyway.”

Maybe it doesn’t matter. Fabel said the first round of a 90-hole tournament doesn’t mean a whole lot. Just keep adding up the birdies and see you later.

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LEADERS

BOB HOPE CLASSIC

At Bermuda Dunes--Par 72

18-Hole Scores

Andrew Magee: 29-34--63 -9

Steve Lowery 33-31--64 -8

Fred Couples 32-32--64 -8

Brad Fabel 30-34--64 -8