Leonard Likes Changes in His Game

Friday, January 12th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) â€” Justin Leonard spent December making subtle changes to his swing, hoping it would eliminate some glitches that have kept him from contending more often on the PGA Tour.

So far, they appear to have paid off.

He played well in the Match Play Championship â€” bad luck to run into Steve Stricker, who was 9 under through 12 holes in a third-round defeat â€” and continued that Thursday despite fierce trade winds that made it tough in the opening round of the Mercedes Championship.

Leonard kept the mistakes to a minimum and birdied three straight holes on the back nine for a 6-under 67, giving him a one-stroke lead over Ernie Els.

``Last week, I went out there judging where I would be,'' he said. ``Playing three rounds, obviously I was disappointed, but knowing that I played pretty well gives me a lot better idea of what I need to work on coming into this week.''

Tiger Woods, in his first round of the new year, got into a mess on the par-5 ninth and missed plenty of birdie opportunities on the back nine of the Plantation Course at Kapalua, but still had a 70 and was only three behind.

``I shot the worst score I could have possible shot, but I'm still right there,'' Woods said after his 48th consecutive round at par or better on the PGA Tour.

Ten of the 33 players in the winners-only field failed to break par, and Steve Lowery and Jim Carter checked in with 80s.

``I played pretty well through the elements,'' Leonard said.

Woods, in his first tournament of the year after his record-breaking 2000 season, made only one glaring mistake, but it cost him. Trying to hit a driver off the fairway on the par-5 ninth, he pulled it into waist-high weeds and had to make a 4-footer to save bogey.

Still, the defending champion controlled the trajectory of his shots beautifully in the wind and was generally pleased with the state of his game after taking four weeks off.

He also liked the conditions.

``The tougher the better,'' Woods said. ``It weeds out the guys who aren't hitting it good.''

Leonard was not on that list.

Leonard missed the Mercedes a year ago after failing to win a PGA Tour event for the first time since 1995, so the Texas Open champ was thrilled to be in Maui. He played like it on a warm, windy day, despite a couple of long three-putts for bogeys on the front nine.

``The holes that I'm supposed to score low on, I feel like I did, with little wedges and things like that,'' Leonard said.

Els, a semifinalist in Match Play last week, has again given himself a good chance at Kapalua. A year ago, he matched Woods shot for shot until losing on the second hole of a playoff when Woods made a 40-foot birdie putt.

The Big Easy took his lumps on the par-5 fifth by misjudging the wind and not clearing a 100-foot gorge in front of the green. He made up for it on the 633-yard closing hole with a 5-iron from 250 yards into 6 feet for eagle.

It was a solid round for Els, considering he missed birdie putts of 10, 5 and 12 feet on the final five holes.

And it was a solid round considering the wind, which was evident from the start.

Woods played a simple flop shot from just over the green, about 20 feet behind the flag. Even over such a short distance, his chip faded into the wind, landing 6 feet short. He made the putt for par, and was cruising along until No. 9.

From the fairway and dead into the wind, he pulled his driver into bushes so thick that Woods hit a provisional in case he couldn't find it. He found his ball, along with a dozen others in the same area. From there, he hacked out into a bunker, came up short of the green from the sand and walked away with a bogey.

Four players were at 4-under 69 â€” Billy Andrade and Stewart Cink, and first-time winners Rory Sabbatini of South Africa and Michael Clark.

The group at 70 included Mike Weir, Hal Sutton and David Toms.

Leonard has never been among the longest hitters on tour, just a good thinker. He made some changes in his swing during December, playing the ball farther up in his stance to eliminate some timing issues.

That was done to contend more often, no matter what Woods is up to.

``I don't think I've ever let another player really affect what I did to prepare,'' Leonard said. ``Now, maybe if it gets to a point, I should. As of right now, I'm going to be stubborn and say, 'I need to figure out what it takes for me to play well.'

``It's a constant search. I'll continue to search.''