Northerners Find Course Hospitable

For all of the fearful forecasts about the increased ferocity of Torrey Pines’ North Course, the leaderboard after the first round of the Buick Invitational had a very familiar look to it Thursday.

Forgetting the names, which were largely forgettable, players from the North Course held first place, three of the four positions tied for second and all five positions tied for sixth. Thus, nine of the opening day’s top 10 rounds were shot on the supposedly more unkind and unfriendly North.

That being the case, the most impressive round of the day was the six-under-par 66 recorded by Chris Perry on the South Course. It left him one shot behind the seven-under 65 carded on the North by Ted Tryba, like Perry an Ohio State grad, on a day when the Buckeyes had it.

Tied for second with Perry, all from the North, were Bob Burns, Wayne Levi and Katsumasa Miyamoto. A stroke back, at 67, were Frank Lickliter, Blaine McAllister, Doug Dunakey, Dennis Paulson and Eric Booker.

And where is Tiger Woods? He shot a 68 on the North Course.

“It’s an advantage to get off to a good start on the South,” Perry said. “It’s nice just to get a good score on the South.”

Perry has experienced the illusionary perils of playing the first round, an excellent first round, on the North Course. A year ago, he opened with a 65 on the North. He followed that with a pair of 75s on the South and finished 11 shots behind winner Scott Simpson in the rain-shortened 54-hole tournament.

Perhaps the Buckeyes had compared notes, because Tryba (pronounced TREE-buh) seemed laconic, at best, about his 65.

“I played well, but it’s way too early,” he said. “I’ve got a good jump, but it’s kind of like getting out in front in a race. You want to keep your car running and try not to hit any walls.”

There may be no walls on Torrey Pines South, but it obviously presents more hazards than the North. One of the reasons the North played easier than expected was that one of three lengthened tees was not in use. No. 13 played to its old length, 430 yards, instead of the new 474, and the result was that the pros pounded their drives across the dogleg and floated short irons onto the green.

“That hole doesn’t need another 30 or 40 yards,” Levi said. “Maybe 15 or 20, but not way back where they’ve got it. It isn’t fair to normal human beings back there.”

Given the old tee location, Levi hit a seven-iron to 12 feet and made birdie en route to his 66. Indeed, Levi got off to the fastest start of the tournament--birdie, eagle, birdie--to get to four under with 75% of the field still on the practice green. He got his eagle with a pitching wedge on the 326-yard second hole.

The two Ohio State grads did their damage on their second nines. Perry started his round on the South’s 10th hole and shot a 31 on the front. Tryba started his round on the North’s first hole and shot a 31 on the back.

Tryba was a modest three under going to the par-five 14th, where he hit a three-wood to 10 feet and made an eagle putt. He came out of a fairway bunker on No. 16 and ran in a 50-foot putt for an unlikely birdie. A “routine” birdie on No. 17 gave him the lead for a day.

Perry made his move on the South with five successive birdies, starting at the second hole.