Woods Shoots a Record 61

NEWPORT BEACH —  Tiger Woods took a home-course advantage to amazing extremes on the first day of the Pacific 10 Conference Men’s Golf Championships Monday at Big Canyon Country Club.

Woods, a sophomore at Stanford and an honorary member of Big Canyon, shot 11-under-par 61, breaking the course record by five strokes. But Woods was only getting started.

In the afternoon, he shot seven-under 65, a stroke better than the previous record, leaving him at 18-under 126 and 14 shots ahead of Arizona State’s Scott Johnson with two days and two rounds remaining.

Despite Woods’ great performance, Stanford is in second place, 12 strokes behind leader Arizona State, which stands at par 720. Stanford is six strokes ahead of USC.

However, the team competition was an afterthought to most of those who followed the threesome of Woods, USC’s Brian Hull and UCLA’s Michael Miller. The gallery of about 100 swelled to more than 200 as the day progressed.

Woods was clearly in his element--a “Go Tiger” sign hung from the balcony from a house overlooking the 18th green. “I feel so comfortable here,” Woods said. “I know a lot of these people.”

Woods also said it helped that he knows the course. He was given an honorary membership four years ago after winning his second U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and said he plays the course as often as he can when at his home in Cypress. “I know where to miss,” he said. “That helps.”

Woods didn’t miss much, although the two-time defending U.S. Amateur Champion said he didn’t have his “A game.”

He started the day by chipping in from the fringe for birdie on the first hole, and then made birdie on five of the next six holes, including Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7. He was landing the ball so close, putts were usually a mere formality. One putt was from 12 feet, the rest within four.

“It was really amazing,” said Hull, who shot 69-74 and is tied for fourth. “I’ve played with him before but I’ve never seen him play like that.

“It seemed like he was playing a pitch-and-putt out there.”

After shooting 30 on the front nine, Woods birdied the 10th hole, bogeyed the 11th and birdied 12 and 14.

Then on the mostly uphill 568-yard, par-five 16th, Woods hit a three-wood approach shot from 242 yards to within eight feet and made the eagle putt to go 10-under.

After a par on 17, Woods hit his third shot on the par-five, 551-yard 18th to six feet and made the putt. As the ball rolled in, he threw two roundhouse punches into the air, punctuating them with a loud yell. “Well 61, that’s why,” Woods explained later. “You don’t get a chance to shoot 61 everyday.”

Woods’ previous best score in competition was a 62 in the 1994 Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship. But that was on a par-70 course, Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights.

Woods needed only nine putts--and two chip-ins--to shoot 31 on the front nine of his second round, and after making birdies on three of the first five holes on the back nine got to 19-under for the tournament.

He nearly made eagle on the 376-yard 14th. His pitch from the right rough 65 yards out, stopped about two inches from the hole.

But even Woods couldn’t maintain the pace. He bogeyed the 15th, a 210-yard par three, and missed a four-foot putt for birdie on the 16th. Visibly tired, he hit bad tee shots on Nos. 17 and 18, recovering to save par each time.

Until the end, Woods was making it look easy, but by all accounts the 6,875-yard layout is no cream puff.

“The guy played so flawless,” USC’s Hull said. “It’s a good golf course out here, and it’s not playing easy as the rest of the field demonstrated.”

Only four others posted rounds in the 60s and only five finished under par for the two rounds.

And Woods, who will tee off in the final group this morning at 10:40, isn’t about to let up.

“I’d like to shoot 60s in all for rounds,” he said. “That’s a good goal to shoot for. They say not many people have shot in the 60s at Big Canyon in tournament play. I’d like to continue the streak.”