Records mean little to California’s Won

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, June 16, 1999 | 10:21 a.m.

The comparisons were inevitable, even before Ron Won broke one of Tiger Woods' high school records last week.

Both Woods and Won hail from Southern California, both are of Asian descent (Woods' mother is Thai, Won's parents are Korean) and this fall, Won will attend Stanford University, Woods' alma mater.

Nevertheless, Won, a senior at University High in Irvine, was totally unprepared for the barrage of Woods-related questions he has been getting since last Tuesday.

That's when Won captured this year's California Interscholastic Federation Southern California Golf Association title with a 6-under-par 66 -- one better than Woods' 1991 California title record round.

"Winning was an awesome feeling, but I didn't think about records until after," Won said.

But Won, who is in town for this week's Las Vegas Founders' Legacy Junior Tournament, is quick to point out that Woods' score might have been even better given different circumstances.

"It's a different level of golf now," Won said. "There are people pushing me to do better, but back then Tiger was the only star. He might have been two or three shots better with someone pushing him."

In the past week, Won's story has been picked up by the Associated Press and CNN, giving him a little added pressure coming into this week's Founders' Tournament.

Despite that and despite missing Monday's practice round at the Legacy (Won's California school is still in session), the budding star managed an even-par 72, just four back of co-leaders Tommy Sharp and Clay Bingham.

"I played this course last year, but I didn't know the conditions of the greens today," said Won, who had three birdies and three bogeys on the front nine before parring the final nine holes.

"I'd like to be a couple under, but I'm not discouraged. I had two or three putts that lipped out today, and there's still two days left."

Sharp, who hails from Salt Lake City, Utah, grabbed a share of the lead by sinking five birdies, including one on the day's first hole.

Bingham, from Spanish Fork, Utah, followed a one-under front side with a spectacular back nine that included two birdies and an eagle on 17, where he chipped in from 20 feet off the green.

In the girls competition, Yunny Cho of Diamond Bar, Calif., and Anne Lee of Northridge, Calif., share the first-day lead after rounds of 70 that both included three-under 33s on the back nine.