CALIFORNIA WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP: DIFFICULT COURSE, WINDY CONDITIONS WREAK GOLF HAVOC.

Byline: Larry Morgan Staff Writer

CITY OF INDUSTRY - Industry Hills' Dwight D. Eisenhower Course, long regarded as one of the toughest in Southern California, lived up to its fearsome reputation in Monday's first round of the California Women's Championship.

The 66-player field averaged 84.8 strokes, almost 12 shots above par on the par-73, 5,973-yard layout. There were two scores of 100 or better and 14 in the 90s. No one even shot par or better.

``Any time you shoot par here is a great score,'' said Industry Hills' Cathy Sarkissian, who plays to a 4.4 index but struggled to an 87 on Monday. ``It's just very difficult and they have some tough pin placements.

``You have to be very careful getting around it.''

``It will punish you if you make any errors,'' said Deb Long, another member of the Industry Hills women's club. She had an 88 in Monday's first round. ``The rough is thick off the greens and they're heavily bunkered.

``This course eats you up. It's as good a championship venue as any in Southern California.''

There was some solid golf despite tricky greens and often gusty conditions. Three players were tied for the lead at 1-over-par 74 and another three were another shot behind.

Rosalin Chung, a former standout at Mt. San Antonio College, never had played the Eisenhower course until Monday and was among the leaders at 74. Chung, who works in the pro shop at nearby Los Angeles Royal Vista Golf Course, got some tips from fellow employee Jeff Yu, who mapped out the course for her.

``It was really detailed,'' Chung said with a grin. ``He drew pictures of every hole. He showed me where to hit it, what the greens were like, everything.

``It's just what I expected.''

Bellflower's Walailak Satarak, NCAA Freshman of the Year at UC Irvine, had six birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys in her round of 74. Not bad for someone who has played the course twice in the last two years and wasn't even going to play this week until her college coach, Kelly Crawford, recommended it.

The 18-year-old Satarak said she started thinking about her score when she finished the front nine in two-under, but a three-putt double bogey on the par-3 13th hole ruined those aspirations.

``I was thinking about going under par,'' said Satarak, who won this year's Long Beach City Women's Championship and also advanced to the match-play round of the recent Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Oregon. ``After 13, I just started taking it shot by shot.''

The final 74 was shot by UTEP's Linda Chen. She often played the Eisenhower course as a junior while growing up in Cerritos, but she hadn't been back for three years.

``The grass is nicer,'' the 21-year-old said. ``It's in better condition.''

Carson's Heidi Chua, who often plays and practices at Industry Hills, topped a group at 75 that also included Linda Chen's sister, Lisa, and Cal Berkeley's Anna Temple.

The 25-year-old Chua, who has spent much of her golf this year overseas (she has victories in the Philippines and Hong Kong, for example), said even par is her daily target because she figured that will win the event.

``But there's still two more days,'' she said. ``Hopefully, my game will get better.''

Temple, who just turned 20, said she entered the tournament because she simply is looking for competition ``and it's better than a week off and practicing.'' She said she has no particular goals other than to play well and have a good time.

``All I want to do is play boring golf ... fairways and greens,'' she said. ``If I can do that, we'll see what happens.''