It was business as usual at Torrey Pines. The perfect weather and
excellent courses condition provided for good scoring. The North course
scoring average was about 2.5 strokes lower than the South's (69.782
and 72.256, respectively). Three of the top four leaders played the
North course, whose par-5 holes yielded 11 eagles, as compared with
the "mere" 4 eagles scored on the par-5 holes of the South course.
Olin Browne's 65 on the South course could well be considered the
best round of the day, in spite Bob Tway's 64 on the North. Taylor
Smith, who doesn't want to be remembered as the "putter guy" (in
reference to his disqualification last season, for using a putter
with a non-conforming grip, which precluded him from a playoff for
the title with Tiger Woods at the Walt Disney Classic), came out of
three weeks of new fatherhood to quietly shoot a 65. Jay Don Blake
played a solid round of "fairways and greens" also for a 65 on the
North.
Shot of the Day: Holed fairway shot on the par-4 5th (North) by
Ronnie Black for an eagle 2.
Making The Best of It: Frank Lickliter, currently tied for
5th place with a 66 (North), who was the last player to make the
field, when Dave Rummels withdrew.
Experience Counts: Three of the top seven players are
previous winners of this event: Tway 1986, Blake 1991, and Forsman 1990.
Stadler, who won here in 1994, is tied for 8th with a 67 on the South.
Amateur Performance: Sixteen-year old John Ray Leary had
1 birdie, 8 bogeys and a double for an 81 (South) and last place. Mike
Samoles had 2 birdies and 3 bogeys for a 73 (North).
The Swedish Are Coming: Adam Mednick shot 68 (North),
Jesper Parnevik 70 (South), and Gabriel Hjertstedt 71 (South).
Pro-Am Results: The individual (professional) categories
were won by Steve Stricker and Tom Byrum (South course, $675 each),
and by Scott Simpson (North course, $750). The team competitions were
won by Guy Boros's team (South course) and Greg Twiggs's team (North
course).
