Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 6, 1990 TAG: 9007060035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Norman, who hadn't broken 70 in the first round in his past nine tournaments, celebrated his first appearance in the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic by shooting a 5-under-par 66.
Mark O'Meara had nine birdies and shared the lead with 35-year-old PGA Tour rookie Greg Hickman at 64, one stroke ahead of Brian Claar and Lanny Wadkins.
"When I saw this golf course Tuesday, I could understand why everybody shoots 20 or 25 under," said Norman, who leads the tour with more than $832,000 in earnings this year.
"The greens were firm in places [Wednesday], but they pumped a lot of water in them and they're not overly quick. It just becomes a birdie shootout. A putting competition; that's all it is."
Although he has won two tournaments and finished in the top 10 in nine of 11 starts, Norman has averaged 71.7 in first-round play this year. His fourth-round average is a tour-low 68.0.
"You guys [in the media] keep track of it," Norman said. "You tell me. I don't follow it. I don't see any reason for it. I'm not looking for something that's happened in the past."
Norman, winner of the Doral-Ryder Open and the Memorial this year, started on the back nine Thursday and had bogeys at Nos. 16 and 18 before knocking his approach shot six inches from the cup to set up a birdie at No. 1. He made eagle at No. 3.
"I really like [the courses] that test your ball-striking," he said. "I like it when the greens are firm and you wonder where the ball's going to end up when it stops rolling."
Norman, who joined the tour in 1983, had not previously played in the Anheuser-Busch Classic because it was held one week before the British Open, which he won in 1986.
The Anheuser-Busch received a new time slot this year, two weeks before the British Open, and an increased purse, from $850,000 to $1 million. With those changes, the event has attracted 12 of the top 20 money-winners.
"It's been four years since I've played here, and that's only because of the British Open," said O'Meara, who in 1986 tied the course record with a round of 63. "I always felt it was difficult to play in this climate one week and the next week in a completely different climate [at the British Open]."
The conditions at Kingsmill in July usually border on the abominable, and Thursday was no exception. The temperature approached 100 degrees, with humidity in the 50-percent range.
"It's one of the hottest days we've had all year, if not the hottest," said Russ Cochran, one of six players at 66. "In another month it will be just another hot day, but no one's had a chance to get used to it."
The scores didn't soar with the temperatures, however, as nearly half the field of 156 broke par and 25 shot 67 or better. Among those at 67 was two-time U.S. Open winner and Kingsmill resident Curtis Strange.
One of the players who matched par, Gary Koch, had the second double eagle on the tour this year. Koch knocked in his 3-wood second shot from 253 yards at No. 7, a 516-yard hole.
Remarkably, O'Meara bogeyed the seventh hole despite lying 70 yards from the green in two. He came back with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9, his last two holes of the round.
"I can't say my confidence was riding that high when I teed off," said O'Meara, whose best finish in his last four starts was a tie for 66th.
"Golf is no different from anything else," he said. "You're going to have your ups and downs. Hanging in there during the down periods is what makes a really good player."
At least O'Meara, 33, can take comfort in his five tour victories, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Hickman has cashed four checks in 13 appearances.
"I get more nervous when I'm around the cut figure than I was today," said Hickman, who played in the next-to-last threesome. "I've got a little leeway now, not that I can't miss [the cut]."
Three-time Virginia State Amateur champion Tom McKnight of Galax was 1 over par through 12 holes before fading to 75.
by CNB