Stadler Leads at Buick Invitational

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ Tiger Woods was finishing up his pedestrian round of 71 in the Buick Invitational when he was told Kevin Stadler was leading the tournament. <br><br>``Kevin?'' Woods asked. ``I

Friday, February 13th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SAN DIEGO (AP) _ Tiger Woods was finishing up his pedestrian round of 71 in the Buick Invitational when he was told Kevin Stadler was leading the tournament.

``Kevin?'' Woods asked. ``I thought it was Craig.''

Craig Stadler, long known as the ``Walrus'' for his size and tusklike mustache, is a former Masters champion who won at Torrey Pines 10 years ago. Kevin was a teenager who was tagging along that day, and the '94 Buick Invitational stands out among his father's 13 victories on the PGA Tour.

``It was the first time I had seen him win that I can remember,'' he said. ``Watching him win out here was special.''

Imagine how the 24-year-old Stadler felt when he finished his round Thursday on the North course by hitting a 6-iron into a gentle breeze to within 3 feet for birdie to get within one shot of the leaders, then fired a 5-iron to within 10 feet of the flag for an eagle and an 8-under 64.

``I never would have dreamed this,'' he said.

Stadler stole the spotlight from Woods and Vijay Singh, taking advantage of the easier North course and finishing his day in style to build a one-stroke lead over Jesper Parnevik and Ted Purdy.

Stadler played with his father last week in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, made the cut for the first time on the PGA Tour and tied for 35th. That gave him a surge of confidence, and being on a familiar track _ he spent more than half his life in San Diego _ only helped.

Craig Stadler missed it. He left for Florida earlier this week for a Champions Tour event, but monitored the first round with great delight.

``That's awesome,'' the father said. ``I hope he shoots three more just like that.''

It won't be easy.

Stadler is a chip off the old Walrus _ big girth, at times a big temper, rarely a dull moment. He had something in common with just about everyone behind him on the leaderboard, too.

They all played the North course, where the greens are more soft and the par 5s can be reached with an iron.

The South course played 3.8 strokes harder, not surprising since it will host a U.S. Open in 2008. Hal Sutton was the only player among the top 27 on the leaderboard to play the South course.

Woods finished his round and asked where he stood.

``They said I was fourth on this golf course and 57th in the tournament,'' he said.

The numbers changed by the end of the day. Woods, who didn't make a putt longer than 4 feet, was in a tie for 63rd and 11 players had better scores on the South.

``Everyone is tearing up the North, so I need to do the same thing,'' Woods said.

Not everyone.

Singh, coming off a victory at Pebble Beach for his 12th consecutive top-10 finish, never got it going and needed a birdie on the par-5 18th to shoot 71 on the easier course.

Purdy summed it up best after his bogey-free 65 on the North.

``I'm going to the U.S. Open tomorrow,'' he said.

There can be exceptions, however. Woods opened with a sloppy 70 on the North course last year, then closed with rounds of 66-68-68 on the South to win by four shots.

He had a tougher time in his first tournament in a month, and twice had to hit sensational shots under and around the trees to avoid big numbers. He picked up birdies on two of the par 5s, and got another with a shot out of thick rough to 4 feet on the 15th hole.

``I didn't play well,'' Woods said. ``But I hung in there and kept myself out of trouble.''

Stadler, who played up the road at USC, has failed to get past the first stage of Q-school twice, and felt awkward about taking a sponsor's exemption to the Buick Invitational.

``I kind of feel from certain people that they think I'm just playing because of my dad, and I want to shed that,'' Stadler said. ``But that's the way it is right now. I just need to make my own way out here.''

He earned his keep Thursday.

Stadler moved from San Diego right before starting high school, but he still had some friends in the gallery and was nervous. He holed an 8-footer for par, then chipped in for birdie to settle him down, and he was on his way.

The only bad hole was No. 15 _ a bad drive, a bad lie, a bad second shot, bad putts. The disgust was evident, just like it always is for his demonstrative dad.

``He's always hounded me to be more calm on the golf course,'' Stadler said of the fatherly advice.

Still, there was a moment last week at Pebble that made him realize how much they are alike.

``People always tell me about how much alike we are,'' he said. ``I'm just sitting there looking at him 10 feet in front of me, the way he's standing. And I realize I'm standing the exact same way.''

The only thing missing is a nickname.

``I definitely don't want to start thinking about those,'' he said. ``No animals.''

Only birdies and eagles.