SO FAR, PLODDERS PREVAIL; MAYFAIR HOLDS ONTO THE LEAD AS BIG NAMES DROP.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

This might not be lunch-pail country out here, but it is a land of coffee cups on the dashboard.

Regular working stiffs. People not afraid of staying late and breaking a sweat if that's what's required to get the mortgage paid. And now, at the Nissan Open golf tournament, they have a leaderboard to match this profile.

After two rounds of the Nissan, which is being played at Valencia Country Club on a one-time basis this year, it was revenge of the journeymen on Friday. Billy Mayfair? Stephen Ames? Tommy Armour III? Payne Stewart?

Stewart is the only household name among them, but that has more to do with his foppish attire than anything he's done on a golf course lately.

What happened to that glittery entry list?

Well, most of those familiar names lagged well back in the field. On a windswept, fast-hardening course whose conditions seemed to change hourly, the plodders were the ones who prevailed.

Mayfair, the first-round leader who hasn't won a PGA tournament in three years, held fast to his lead after a wild ride Friday. His even-par round of 71 - which featured five birdies and five bogeys - left him at 6-under 136 for the tournament and leading by one stroke.

Immediately behind him were Ames, fresh from the PGA Qualifying School; Armour, who failed the Q School and is playing this event on a sponsor's exemption, and Stewart, who hasn't won a tournament since '95.

You have to look a little deeper on the list to find Tiger Woods, whose 2-over-par round of 73 left him 1-under for the tournament (141), five strokes off the lead.

To spot Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Nick Faldo and Tom Lehman, you have to squint. And to locate Craig Stadler and Justin Leonard, survey the passenger lists at LAX - they managed to miss a cut that was made at the forgiving point of 4 over par.

``There's only one man we always look over our shoulders at, and we all know who that is,'' Mayfair said of Woods, the reigning PGA Player of the Year who is known for his furious weekend finishes. ``But all I can do the next two days is go out and play the best Billy Mayfair can, and if it's good enough to win, it is; if somebody else gets hot, I'll congratulate them at the end of the day.''

This tournament boasted 12 of the top 30 earners from last year's money list. Only one of them, Scott Hoch, is among the top 14 on the leaderboard after 36 holes.

Hoch is tied with Rick Fehr at 4 under par (138), two strokes back of the leader. Fehr, another lesser-known who hasn't won on the tour in four years, benefited hugely from a hole-in-one, finding the cup with a 5-iron on No. 3, a 172-yard par-3.

Faldo, the defending champion, is at 1-over 143. He shares that spot with Couples and Mickelson, who shot a 5-over round of 76 Friday. Lehman is a stroke back of them.

Why is this happening? Perhaps because those treacherous conditions on an unfamiliar course are proving to be a great equalizer.

``The nice thing about this week,'' said Mayfair, ``nobody else has played the golf course. When you play a course nobody else has played except the guys who live here, it's not as big an advantage being out here for 10 years.''

The players labored against this course for the second straight day, resulting in unusually high numbers for the halfway point of a tournament. The winds continued to whip across the layout, redirecting anything in the air and drawing more and more of the rainwater out of greens that had played like sofa cushions all week.

``The course is playing a little trickier,'' said Armour. He caught himself: ``Well, every day has been tricky. But the winds are drying it out. The greens are picking up speed every day. And the wind puts a premium on hitting good, quality shots.''

Some players grumbled a bit about sadistic pin placements on greens that are already known for their ample hills and dales.

``They have some cute pins out there,'' said Stewart. ``Whoo, hoo, hoo! Yes, they do. There are some beauties.''

He cited, in particular, No. 6, where the hole was positioned tight behind a bunker on the left, and in a valley between two mounds. The hole resulted in 46 bogeys, 13 doubles, two triples and only 10 birdies.

It also slammed the brakes on anyone who started on No. 10 and was attempting to make a late move along that stretch. Mayfair, for example, was 9 under when he got to that tee, but his bogey on the hole was his first of three over his final four holes. That portion of the course, bordered by the I-5 Freeway, does not afford much shelter, and a brisk wind was ripping through there in the late afternoon.

``I was a little disappointed with the finish, but I still have the lead,'' said Mayfair.

He shrugged, excused himself and headed off for a night's entertainment.

``Ragtime'' at the Shubert? Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra? Dinner at L'Orangerie?

Nah. This is the regular working guy, remember. No frills. No pretensions.

Billy Mayfair was headed to a Clippers game.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Map, Box, Chart

Photo: (Color) Tiger Woods, reacting after he missed a putt on No. 18, is five strokes behind leader Billy Mayfair after a 73.

David R. Crane/Daily News

Map: (Color) HOW TO GET THERE

Dionisio Munoz/Daily News

Box: (Color) HOLE OF THE DAY

Chart: (Color) LEADERBOARD