Thursday, Oct. 12, 2000 | 11:04 a.m.
Dusk was creeping in from the horizon as the solitary figure of Brad Faxon hit range balls at the TPC at Summerlin.
It had already been a long day for Faxon, having had an early morning tee time at Southern Highlands, yet a golfer's work is never done and he wanted a look at the course where he is scheduled to play today. As a believer in the value of preparation, taking the time to visit a second course in one day is something Faxon would have done even if he wasn't part of a trio one stroke behind front-runner Bruce Lietzke in the $4.25 million Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.
"This is fairly routine for me," Faxon said Wednesday as he completed his stint on the all-but-deserted range, the twilight and a slight chill chasing most everyone away. "When you're hitting balls after a round like I was there, you're either trying to 'find it' or you're trying to 'keep it.' In my case, I'd like to keep my rhythm going."
That's for sure, as his opening 64 left him just one stroke behind Lietzke and tied on the leader board with Olin Browne and Casey Martin as scoring in the marathon, five-day tournament got off to a fast start. And this is an event where the hare, as opposed to the tortoise, holds the advantage.
"When conditions are right, you have to score low in this tournament or you're going to be left behind," Faxon said. "I mean, there may be four rounds yet to play but you'd better get off to a good start if you're going to have any chance to win."
Faxon was in the odd position of having had a superior round, at eight under par, without having his 'A' game. Mixed in with his nine birdies and one eagle were an unsightly three bogeys.
"You might not believe it if you've been here all day," he said, "but it was real windy this morning at Southern Highlands.
"It's hard to shoot 64 and say you feel you left something on the course, but that's what happened. I had a bunch of nice holes, but I certainly didn't do as well as I could have."
Lietzke later echoed those same remarks, saying his 63 at the TPC could have been better.
"I don't want to complain," he said, "but I missed five putts under 14 feet."
No one on the PGA Tour plays so well for playing so little as Lietzke. While his money rank this season -- No. 177, with $128,743 -- isn't impressive in and of itself, this is only his ninth tournament of the year and his first since the Reno-Tahoe Open in August.
The 49-year-old Texan is a former Las Vegas champion (1994) who has 13 tour wins. But his schedule has been greatly reduced in recent years, although he won $479,555 from 1997-99 despite entering only 28 events.
"I'm convinced there's a thing called muscle memory," Lietzke said. "I'm living proof of it."
If nothing else, Lietzke's late afternoon push to the top of the leader board made a seer of Browne, who came off the 18th hole at the TPC and said the lead he held at the time was likely to be temporary.
"There could easily be a ton of scores better than this before the day's out," Browne said around noon after turning in his 64. "The weather is glorious and the course is right there if you're hitting the ball decent at all."
He hit it well enough to collect six birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round highlighted by holing a 7-iron from 161 yards on the par-4 sixth for a rare 2.
"It started at the flag and disappeared," Browne said. "We didn't know it was in until some people up ahead started yelling and making some noise.
"That'll pad my eagle stats."
His quick break from the gate was an anomaly for him this season, Browne said.
"You always want to start a tournament with a round like this but I've been doing the opposite all year," he said. "I've been slow out of the box, although I can't attribute it to any one thing. But it's been frustrating because it forces you to come back the next day and play 'lights out' just to make the cut."
While the cut in the Invensys won't come until after the third round, Browne is apt to be here for the weekend.
"In this tournament you have to make as many birdies as you can, because the long hitters can really beat up the par 5s," he said. "I don't have any length, but I can see how you could shoot 62 or 63 out here if you did.
"Especially at this course, when the conditions are right there's nothing to prevent you from taking your best swing and letting it rip. This is a place where you have to go for the flag."
While Faxon has won a tournament this year -- the B.C. Open in July -- Browne has not, and it's bothering him.
"I've been disappointed," he said. "I won one in '98 and I won one last year, but this has been kind of a dull, off year. I may have made 19 cuts but I haven't played all that well."
He has, however, played much better this season than one of his cohorts at 64, Martin. The cart-riding daredevil has been in danger of losing his tour card, as he came to Las Vegas ranked No. 178 in earnings (with a mere $123,624 in 25 events) and needs to rally to finish in the top 125.
Of course should he take the $765,000 first-place check that will be awarded Sunday, his earlier struggles will be moot.
"You can make up a lot of ground in one week," Martin said of the riches that will be spread around. "That's what makes this event so huge."
His 64 came at Southern Highlands and was the result of four birdies on each side. Invigorating as that was, his right leg is pestering him and is of increasing concern.
"I've felt horrible the last month," he said. "It's been a really frustrating year. I haven't played well and I haven't felt well physically."
While he is positioned to secure his 2001 tour card with a strong showing in the Invensys, Martin isn't counting on it. Having missed the cut in seven of his 11 most recent events, his confidence has eroded.
"Certainly, playing five days (instead of the usual tour standard of four) is a bit tough," he said. "It's a daunting task. Plus, mentally, it's being in contention and having an extra day to think about it."
He should take some consolation from knowing that of the nine players within two strokes of the lead after the first day of the 1999 tournament, eight of them finished in the top 19 and earned at least $32,500.
Last year's winner and two-time defending champ Jim Furyk settled for an opening 70 this year at the Desert Inn and is seven shots off the first-day pace.
All but 14 of the 144 professionals in the tournament matched or bettered par in their opening round.
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