Friday, February 13, 1998
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Hawaiian Open co-leader John Huston
lines up an eagle putt yesterday.
Ogrin and Huston shoot 63s
By Bill Kwon
as 105 players best par in
the Hawaiian Open
Star-Bulletin"It was the best of times, the worst of times." It seemed appropriate that David Ogrin borrowed the line from Charles Dickens.
For one, Ogrin played like the dickens, shooting a 9-under 63 yesterday to share the lead with John Huston after the first round of the United Airlines Hawaiian Open.
For another, there were great expectations all around as a remarkable 105 golfers in the 143-player field bettered par at the Waialae Country Club, thanks to a windless day that produced birdies galore. And a few eagles, too.
"A 67. That's about the middle of the field, isn't it?," Tom Watson said in jest.
Not quite. But close enough. His 67 was good for a tie for 14th with 13 others, including defending champion Paul Stankowski.
After a five-year absence, Watson decided to play in the Hawaiian Open because he thought it would be the last at Waialae. He wanted to take a stroll down memory lane.
"I've got some good memories here. I nearly won my first Tour event here," Watson said. "That was in 1973. I had a four-shot lead going into the final round."
He finished third behind winner John Schlee and runner-up Orville Moody. But Watson never looked back. He has 33 PGA Tour victories, including the memorable 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He also has won the British Open five times.
"With no wind, it was a pretty easy course today," Watson said. "I wasn't surprised to see such low scores."
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Jim Furyk, the 1996 Hawaiian Open champion,
swings away on the first tee yesterday.
The wind, an opposite Kona, picked up a trace in the afternoon. The morning players posted most of the lower scores. The best afternoon round was a 65 by Trevor Dodds, who played on the Nike Tour last year. Five others shot 65s in the morning, including David Ishii, the 1990 Hawaiian Open winner, and Mike Reid, who lost in a three-way playoff last year.The scores were so low in the morning that Tom Byrum's 64 -- which put him alone in third behind Ogrin and Huston -- practically went unnoticed. He wasn't even brought into the interview room.
It reminded Tour media official Lee Patterson of the time Chip Beck shot a 59 in the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational. Bob Green of the Associated Press told Patterson, "Don't bring somebody in unless he shoots a 58."
For a while, Ogrin could have thought about a 59. He was halfway there with an impeccable 29 in playing the back nine first.
"I had a flawless nine holes, pure and effortless, good as I've ever played," said Ogrin, who started off with four birdies.
"It's the first time I've seen on Tour that there were no conditions -- no wind, no hills, no nothing."
That made for the "best of times."
Then came the "worst of times."
Ogrin knocked his drive out of bounds on the par-5 first hole -- his 10th -- but made a great bogey, nearly holing a bunker shot for par.
Obviously, "miserable" is a relative term. Ogrin regained the stroke he lost with a birdie on No. 2 and picked up two more with birdies at No. 6 -- when he holed a bunker shot -- and No. 9, where he made a 30-foot putt.
"The difference in David Ogrin this year is I know it's OK to play miserable once in a while," he said.
By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
David Ishii goes for a birdie on the final hole yesterday;
he missed, but tapped-in to make par.
"I've been playing well. I was looking forward to this week," said Huston, who also had 10 birdies and a bogey. He birdied all the par-3s and par-5s.Thanks to tips from his caddy and sister Julie Jones?
"She did not say a word," Huston said with a laugh. "She wanted a free trip to Hawaii."
Huston said he thinks the 72-hole Hawaiian Open record of 23 under could be in jeopardy if the same conditions prevail through the weekend.
"You don't see too many days like today," said Huston, who for the first time in his career fell out of the top 125 on the Tour money list in 1997. He is using a one-time exemption -- for being on the top 50 all-time money list -- this year.
"The greens are fantastic and the golf course is in great shape," he added. "It's there for the taking if you stay on the fairways."
Ishii got his share of birdies to keep alive his great expectations of winning again at Waialae. He played the par-5s in 4 under, thanks to an eagle at No. 9 when he rolled in a 45-foot putt. He also chipped in from 12 yards at the par-4 12th to avoid a bogey.
The key to playing Waialae is getting birdies on the shortish par-5s, according to Ishii.
"This is my only chance to get into the Masters, so this tournament is a big deal for me," said Ishii.
Also harboring great expectations are two other pros with local ties who qualified on Monday -- Maui's Brian Sasada and Keoke Cotner, a former Kamehameha golfer now playing out of Dallas. Sasada shot a 68, Cotner a 70.
The low 70 and ties after today's second round will survive the 36-hole cut, which could be lower than the record 140 set last year.
Hawaiian Open
First round, Par 72 At Waialae Country Club
John Huston -- 32-31--63
David Ogrin -- 34-29--63
Tom Byrum -- 31-33--64
David Ishii -- 32-33--65
Mike Reid -- 32-33--65
Curtis Strange -- 32-33--65
Woody Austin -- 34-31--65
Jeff Maggert -- 32-33--65
Trevor Dodds -- 32-33--65
Tim Herron -- 33-33--66
Steve Stricker -- 34-32--66
Paul Goydos -- 34-32--66
Fulton Allem -- 34-32--66
Clark Dennis -- 35-32--67
P.H. Horgan III -- 34-33--67
Brian Henninger -- 34-33--67
Keith Clearwater -- 34-33--67
Paul Stankowski -- 31-36--67
Jim McGovern -- 35-32--67
Tommy Armour III -- 36-31--67
Craig Barlow -- 34-33--67
Hugh Royer -- 33-34--67
Tom Watson -- 34-33--67
Kenny Perry -- 33-34--67
Olin Browne -- 33-34--67
Skip Kendall -- 35-32--67
Jeff Gallagher -- 33-34--67
Gary Hallberg -- 35-33--68
Joe Durant -- 35-33--68
Brandel Chamblee -- 33-35--68
Frank Lickliter -- 35-33--68
Loren Roberts -- 34-34--68
Steve Jones -- 34-34--68
Spike McRoy -- 36-32--68
Brett Quigley -- 35-33--68
Mike Weir -- 35-33--68
Steve Jurgensen -- 34-34--68
Jay Delsing -- 33-35--68
Omar Uresti -- 36-32--68
Robert Gamez -- 32-36--68
Kelly Gibson -- 35-33--68
Duffy Waldorf -- 33-35--68
Brian Kamm -- 35-33--68
Brent Geiberger -- 35-33--68
Gene Sauers -- 33-35--68
Jim Thorpe -- 34-34--68
Mark Carnevale -- 33-35--68
Brian Sasada -- 34-34--68
Steve Flesch -- 34-34--68
Bob Friend -- 34-34--68
Mike Springer -- 36-33--69
Dave Rummells -- 37-32--69
Jim Furyk -- 34-35--69
Billy Mayfair -- 33-36--69
Peter Jacobsen -- 35-34--69
Doug Barron -- 35-34--69
Joe Daley -- 35-34--69
Esteban Toledo -- 33-36--69
Sonny Skinner -- 35-34--69
Greg Kraft -- 36-33--69
Blaine McCallister -- 35-34--69
Billy Ray Brown -- 34-35--69
Craig Stadler -- 35-34--69
Nolan Henke -- 34-35--69
Kent Jones -- 33-36--69
David Peoples -- 35-35--70
Fred Couples -- 38-32--70
Jim Gallagher -- 34-36--70
Don Pooley -- 36-34--70
Michael Christie -- 37-33--70
Tim Simpson -- 36-34--70
Len Mattiace -- 35-35--70
Chris DiMarco -- 34-36--70
Vance Veazey -- 38-32--70
Bruce Fleisher -- 36-34--70
Wayne Levi -- 35-35--70
Jay Don Blake -- 35-35--70
Dave Barr -- 36-34--70
Danny Edwards -- 35-35--70
John Morse -- 34-36--70
Howard Twitty -- 34-36--70
Russ Cochran -- 35-35--70
Jim Carter -- 35-35--70
Dave Stockton -- 37-33--70
Andy Bean -- 34-36--70
Keith Nolan -- 37-33--70
Keoke Cotner -- 36-34--70
Bobby Wadkins -- 34-37--71
Brad Fabel -- 36-35--71
Jeff Sluman -- 36-35--71
Tom Lehman -- 37-34--71
Joe Ozaki -- 35-36--71
Lennie Clements -- 36-35--71
Iain Steel -- 35-36--71
Niclas Fasth -- 35-36--71
Buddy Harston -- 37-34--71
Taylor Smith -- 36-35--71
Larry Mize -- 38-33--71
Brian Claar -- 35-36--71
Guy Boros -- 36-35--71
Corey Pavin -- 34-37--71
Bob Gilder -- 36-35--71
Tim Loustalot -- 37-34--71
Tom Pernice Jr. -- 36-35--71
Glen Hnatiuk -- 37-34--71
Mike Sullivan -- 37-35--72
Scott Simpson -- 33-39--72
Joe Root -- 38-34--72
Don Berry -- 36-36--72
J.P. Hayes -- 37-35--72
Jimmy Johnston -- 38-34--72
Dicky Pride -- 37-35--72
David Edwards -- 34-38--72
R.W. Eaks -- 37-35--72
Lee Porter -- 37-35--72
Richard Coughlan -- 37-35--72
Jim Estes -- 35-37--72
Ted Tryba -- 39-34--73
J.L. Lewis -- 39-34--73
Greg Meyer -- 39-34--73
Barry Cheesman -- 39-34--73
Lan Gooch -- 37-36--73
Mark Wiebe -- 38-35--73
Lon Hinkle -- 37-36--73
Robin Freeman -- 38-35--73
Phil Tataurangi -- 39-34--73
Ben Bates -- 37-36--73
Mark Wurtz -- 37-36--73
Ron Castillo -- 39-34--73
Bobby Gage -- 35-38--73
Harrison Frazar -- 38-35--73
Mike Small -- 36-38--74
Joakim Haeggman -- 40-34--74
Tim Conley -- 37-37--74
John Riegger -- 38-36--74
Pete Jordan -- 40-35--75
Jet Ozaki -- 37-38--75
Kevin Wentworth -- 39-36--75
Guy Hill -- 39-37--76
Paul Azinger -- 40-36--76
Chip Beck -- 40-37--77
Phil Blackmar -- 42-37--79
a-Ryan Koshi -- 40-39--79a--amateur.
