WOODS LIKES HIS POSITION : FIRES A 69 IN U.S. AMATEUR QUALIFYING.

Byline: Ron Sirak Associated Press 

Tiger Woods was just where he wanted to be after the first day of qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship. And when he got there he saw a familiar face.

Woods, trying for an unprecedented third consecutive Amateur title, shot a 2-under-par 69 on the Pumpkin Ridge Ghost Creek course Monday, one stroke behind Trip Kuehne, who played the same course.

The first of Woods' U.S. Amateur titles came when he defeated Kuehne 2-up on The Stadium Course at Sawgrass in 1994.

Bo Van Pelt, a junior at Oklahoma State this fall and the son of former NFL player Brad Van Pelt, also shot a 68 but his was a 4-under on the par-72 Witch Hollow course.

``Overall, it's a perfect start,'' Woods said after he overpowered the par-5 holes at Ghost Creek, making birdies on three of four of them.

``You don't have to go out tomorrow and shoot under par,'' he said. ``It takes the pressure off.''

The top 64 scores after today's second round of stroke play will advance to match play competition beginning Wednesday. It's likely it will take a score of 145 to qualify.

Woods will need to defeat six players in match play to do what no one - not Bobby Jones or Jack Nicklaus - has done: win a third straight U.S. Amateur Championship.

Kuehne, a graduate student at Oklahoma State who no longer has college eligibility, got his 68 on the strength of great iron play.

``I think of my six birdies, five of them were from less than three feet,'' he said.

Van Pelt started his round with three consecutive pars and then birdied four holes in a row and coasted to a 68.

``I think you've got to try to shoot as low as you can,'' Van Pelt said, with an attitude that differed greatly from the more experienced Woods. ``If you just try to qualify, you'll be right on the cut line.''

Woods is in position to play a safe round and easily advance.

``That's the whole idea of qualifying,'' Woods said, ``to play very conservatively.''

Woods made four birdies and two bogeys and one of those bogeys came when he missed a 4-foot putt after a photographer snapped a shot and shattered his concentration.

``I was pretty hot,'' Woods said. ``But I was able to come back and birdie the next hole.''

Woods, whose easy manner suggests a maturity beyond his 20 years, will be a junior at Stanford when school starts in September. The big question is whether he will turn professional after the U.S. Amateur.

Woods is entered in next week's Greater Milwaukee Open on a sponsor's exemption and has committed to one other PGA Tour event before school starts. He insists, however, he will be at Stanford when school starts.

Kuehne, who said he might remain an amateur after he gets his master's degree in business administration, is just the kind of experienced player who could get a hot putter and knock Woods out of the tournament.

``Probably losing was the best thing that ever happened to me,'' Keuhne said about his 1994 loss to Woods. ``I wasn't ready to win.''

He looked ready Monday, giving a subtle warning to Woods that a third title - if is it to come - will not be easy.

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PHOTO Seeking an unprecedented third straight title, TigerWoods tees off during qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Associated Press