Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990                   TAG: 9004080159
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: AUGUSTA, GA.                                LENGTH: Medium

ROOKIE ISN'T FAZED BY LEADER BOARD

Ray Floyd . . . John Huston . . . Nick Faldo . . . Jack Nicklaus . . . Bernhard Langer.

Wait a second. Go back to that second guy. John Huston? Who's that?

Maybe the most laid-back person at golf's cathedral, that's who.

"He doesn't seem to crack easily," Nicklaus said. "I don't know anything about him. But he played behind us today and I got to watch him a little. He put the ball everywhere you need to put it here."

The lore of Augusta and the pitfalls that are supposed to swallow up Masters rookies haven't fazed the 28-year-old Floridian.

"I've watched [the Masters] every year and I feel like I've been here every year. I've seen every back nine Jack Nicklaus has played here for the past 10-15 years," Huston said after shooting a 4-under-par 68 Saturday to hang two shots behind the leader, Floyd.

Of the top five names on the leader board, only Huston doesn't own a green jacket.

So what. No pressure, he said.

"Hey, that might work in my favor," he said. "Everybody expects them to do it here."

Huston's name has been at the top or among the leaders since Thursday's opening round. While the rest of the no-names - first-round leader Mike Donald has gone from two shots ahead to 17 behind - have since dropped far back in the pack, Huston has refused to fold.

"I'm confident and I'm playing extremely well," said Huston, who qualified for the Masters by winning the Honda Classic three weeks ago.

"I've tried not to tell myself it's my first Masters. I've kept a low profile and tried not to get excited or let things get to me. It's exciting to be on the other side of the ropes."

Huston's name first began to hit the nation's newspapers before the start of the Honda Classic, when he was cited by PGA for using, of all things, illegal shoes.

"I had some shoes that were built up on the outside," Huston said. "[The PGA] said I was building an illegal stance.

"All they did was help my balance a little. They didn't change my swing or game any. They called me 10 hours before the start of the tournament, and I had to stop the morning of the tournament and buy a $160 pair of Foot-Joys.

"The rest of the players now joke about it. Everybody thinks it's so comical."

Then, after winning the Honda Classic, Huston was involved in a car crash that required 11 stitches in his head.

Huston has yet to wreck at Augusta, which a lot of people thought he would do after he opened the tournament with a 6-under-par 66.

He has handled himself well in front of the large Masters press corps. His story about playing college golf at Auburn has gotten a lot of play.

"I was on the golf team at Auburn for two semesters; I was in class about five minutes. I don't think I'll be doing any public-service announcements for the NCAA anytime soon.

"Seriously, I just decided then that I wanted to play golf instead of going to school. It was that simple."

When asked if he has had trouble sleeping this week, Huston deadpanned, "If you stay up late enough, you'll fall asleep. I watched David Letterman every night this week.`'

And what will he do if he wins the Masters?

"I won't do anything," he said. "I might go out and buy something nice. But after winning last month, I feel like I've got everything."