TOM JOHNSON -- Publisher’s Notebook

My golf game has been struggling a bit lately. My friends might be

heard saying, “Johnson, you hit it like a girl.”

On Tuesday, that would have been a compliment. You see, I’m playing in

the 30th anniversary Nabisco Championship Pro-Am (formerly known as the

Dinah Shore) in Rancho Mirage.

Our first round had us paired with Jackie Gallagher-Smith, an

eight-year pro out of Jupiter, Fla. (Her brothers, Jim and Jeff, play the

PGA Tour.) Jackie doesn’t hit the ball like any girls I’ve played with.

In fact, she doesn’t hit it like most of the men I play with. She hits it

better.

Our tee time came early -- 6:50 a.m. to be exact. That meant a 5:15

wake-up call. Ouch!

One didn’t have to look too far down the official pairing sheet to

find us. We were listed as the first group off.

Besides Jackie, our group was made up of Bill Cannedy and Jack Murdock

of the Palm Springs area, and Les Spike of Ohio. Les is here celebrating

his 70th birthday, a present from his son.

Our first round started taking shape early. Jackie hit a big drive

down the first fairway -- and the hunt was on. A big birdie on one got us

going. We did the same on two, and Jackie followed with a birdie of her

own on three.

At three-under-par 72 after three -- the first group out, go figure --

we were in the lead.

On four, we momentarily stalled with a par. No harm, no foul. “Plenty

of holes left,” we said.

We jumped back on the birdie bandwagon on five and six. We could see

this day had the makings of something special.

After a par on seven, I finally found a way to contribute to the fun

on the 166-yard, par-three eighth. I hit a 7-iron 18 feet past the hole

and drained the downhiller coming back. Birdie No. 2.

The team rallied again, and we recorded a birdie on nine. At

seven-under-par, it was a 29 going out.

After a couple of pars to get the backside going, we followed with

more birdies. Everyone was contributing. Jack knocked in putts; Les and

Bill knocked in putts.

On 16 came my shot of the day. We were 129 yards out. Jackie had

already hit it close. Birdie seemed a sure bet. To be honest, I had hit

the ball poorly most of the day. But that was about to change. I hit a

solid wedge that launched into the air and shaped itself toward the hole.

One bounce and a roll -- it disappeared. Eagle two! High-fives all

around!

We had a par 17 and finished with a birdie on 18 before a growing

crowd of spectators.

Another 29 on the backside. A 58 or 14-under-par. Wow! We were happy.

The next groups came in as we sat and waited in the Nabisco

hospitality suite. “Ten under,” says the second group. “Seven under,”

says the third.

There was a lot of golf still to be played and handicaps to be

factored in.

At 5:05 p.m., I called the media tent and asked for any results. They

told me there were still 10 or 11 groups out. The wait continued.

We called the tent again at 6:10. Two groups were still out. We were

tied for the low score of the day; however, with handicap adjustments, we

were in third.

Wendy Doolan’s group shot 58 and adjusted to 49.3. Se Ri Pak’s group

shot 61, but adjusted to 51.8. We were sitting at 52.4. At 6:27, it

became official. Jill McGill’s group came in with a 60 that adjusted to a

50.4.

We tied for the low score of the day and finished fourth in net play.

Today, we’ll try it again. I’ll be paired with new amateur partners and

with touring pro Joanne Morley. We’ll go off the Palmer course at 10:15.

Now, the pressure’s off. We’ll just have fun.

* TOM JOHNSON is the publisher of the Daily Pilot.