Classic coaxes best from locals.

Byline: Ron Bellamy The Register-Guard

JUNCTION CITY - Practice? Who needs to practice?

After a summer in which he's spent much time on the road recruiting, after a week in which he's been laid up with a cold, University of Oregon men's golf coach Casey Martin went out and shot a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday in the opening round of the $450,000 Oregon Classic at Shadow Hills Country Club.

It was the best competitive round of the summer for the former Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour member who lives in Eugene and graduated from South Eugene High School - in four previous tournaments, all missed cuts, he hadn't broken 70, and he did so only once last year in nine tournaments - and his best in the Oregon Classic since a second-round 68 in 2004, when he finished tied for 12th.

And, clearly, he had a great time.

"It was fun today," Martin said. "I just have one goal, to be low coach for this tournament. So far, so good."

Of course, Martin is the only college coach in this tournament.

"Yeah, small steps," he said.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Martin invoked the controversy over Oregon's 34-33 football win over Oklahoma last weekend.

"The only problem was I had a bad ruling," he said, deadpan. "I should have been given a drop, and I wasn't. ... I tried to get the whole first round voided."

Just kidding.

Seriously, Martin said he was on such an emotional high after Oregon's football win that he crashed down with a cold Sunday afternoon.

"I've really felt awful and been kind of under the weather, and sometimes that's good, because you take the pressure off," he said.

And, Martin said, he hit the ball very well Thursday, with five birdies.

"I could have had a low one today," he said. "I had a couple bogeys, and a couple of putts were on the edge, but today was as solid golf as I've played in a while."

For that, he gave some credit to former South Eugene and University of Oregon golfer Jimmy White, a neighbor, who was unable to qualify Monday to play in the tournament and agreed to caddie for his fellow Axeman.

"I had him line me up and and I just kind of tuned out and swung, and balls tended to go where he was looking and I was lined up," Martin said. "He was a lot of help. He clubbed me really well. He's the best caddie I've had in a long time."

And it helped produce Martin's best round in a long time.

"The competition out here is great, and I competed with them today," said Martin, playing on a sponsor's exemption. "I'll try to track it down three more days. I'm going to have to play well."

So will another former South Eugene star, Jeff Quinney, who finished 1 under Thursday - though then again, 71 is exactly what he shot in the first round two years ago, when he went on to win the Oregon Classic with a tournament-record 63 in the final round.

"I felt really good about my game," said Quinney, sixth on the Nationwide Tour money list this season, and bound for the PGA Tour next year. "I hit the ball really well. I just didn't get the ball quite in the hole. But we still have three days left.'