NO RAIN AS 3 GAIN EARLY LEAD\Stadler gets eagle, but Riviera scores are high.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Daily News Staff Writer

Talk about your blessed event.

All week long, the talk of the Nissan Open was that it might wind up closed.

But after three cold, sunless days and nearly six inches of rain - including a Wednesday-night downpour so violent it set off car alarms - the Nissan opened on time Thursday and in glorious weather at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

Craig Stadler quickly made the most of it, teeing off at 7:36 a.m. and chipping in for an eagle 3 on the par-5, 501-yard first hole.

The former USC standout, who includes the 1982 Masters among his 11 tour victories, finished with a four-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead.

Fellow morning starter Robert Wrenn, an 11-year tour veteran whose only win came in 1987, also shot 67, as did late-starting Steve Elkington - who won the PGA Championship on this course last August.

Scott Simpson, Chip Beck and David Toms came in at 68, while Steve Stricker, Fred Couples, Kirk Triplett and two-time Nissan champion Fred Couples were two off the pace at 69 on a day kept brilliantly clear by brisk afternoon winds.

Those gusts helped keep the early starters at the front of the pack but also produced some help for the late starters.

Allen Doyle, at 47 the oldest rookie in PGA Tour history, used a tail wind to drive his second shot past the green on the par-5 first hole. He nearly chipped in an eagle, as Stadler had, but went too far past the cup and had to settle for par.

Stadler could relate:

"My chip probably would have gone 10-15 feet past," he said, "but it hit the pin center-cut and went in."

Stadler also holed birdie putts of 12, 3, 40 and 15 feet in a two-bogey round while using a putter he had to scramble to borrow three minutes before tee-off.

After that, it was ho-hum.

"Good tee balls, good irons, good putts," Stadler said of a round that included just one three-putt green.

Wrenn, who had to return to PGA qualifying school to earn the right to play on this year's tour, birdied three of his first six holes and got as low as five under before bogeying his final hole - the ninth.

"We were lucky this morning - not a whole lot of wind," said Wrenn, who teed off at 8:03 and rolled in his sixth birdie just about the time the wind started to gust.

"The wind picked up the last four holes," he said. "It will get kind of interesting to see what happens this afternoon."

What happened was mostly unremarkable for several marquee names.

Despite Elkington's brilliance in the afternoon wind - 13 of 14 fairways hit and five birdies - the tournament's quartet of Grand Slam champions finished a combined one-over par.

British Open winner John Daly wound up at 73, Masters champ Ben Crenshaw was at 74 and U.S. Open (and defending Nissan) titlist Corey Pavin came in at par 71.

Phil Mickelson, the tour's earnings leader and only two-time winner this year, struggled to a 75, as did Woody Austin, last year's rookie of the year.

Glen Day needed an ace on the 170-yard sixth hole to shoot 71. That's the kind of day it was, with just 39 players able to finish par or better on a course made long by the wind and recent rain and tougher for thick, damp rough.

"So many hard holes out there," Elkington said. "Four under is just a very happy day for me. I played well."

He got an unexpected boost from the scoreboard as he arrived for his 11:56 tee-off time.

"It was nice to see 1-under on the board when I got here today," Elkington said. "Usually 1-under is about 35th when we tee off in the afternoon. Par was a good score today."

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Photo Aussie Steve Elkington just missed a putt on the eighth green for a birdie and the solo lead. John McCoy / Daily News Chart (1) Leaders (2) Others