WHILE coded pleas for mercy were being conveyed to the tournament committee, John Huston stole into the first round lead with a remarkable 67 in the US Masters at Augusta yesterday. His holed second shot for an eagle two at the 18th was a fitting finale to a day of dramatic contrasts and dire predictions about the scoring this weekend.

"If the weather stays like this, you could shoot an over par total and win the title" said the 1992 champion Fred Couples. Clearly, Tiger Woods wasn't listening, insofar as he blitzed the back nine with an inward 30 for a round of 70.

Nor were there any signs of concern from second placed Paul Stankowski, on 68, and a revitalised Paul Azinger, one stroke further back. But Couples, who carded a level par 72, wanted it known that he believed the line had been crossed as far as putting fairness was concerned.

"When they look at the scoring at the end of today's round, they'll realise we're simply not that good," he said. "The only easy pin position I could see was on the seventh. It meant that apart from the par fives, the closest you could get an iron shot to the hole was about 10 feet away, unless you hit the pin.

Officials set a number of difficult, new pin positions in anticipation of benign conditions. Instead, cold, morning winds had the effect of drying out surfaces that already had precious little give. And when it swirled among the pines, clubbing became increasingly difficult.

Defending champion Nick Faldo would have empathised with the Couples view. "The greens on the front nine were faster that on Sunday last year," he said. "I certainly made things hard for myself by hitting my approach irons in the wrong, place." The penalty was five three putts in an outward 41.

In the circumstances, Faldo did well to escape with a 75. But his frustration would have been heightened significantly by the back nine performance of his playing partner, Woods. Fighting a hook from the outset, the 21 year old displayed remarkable awareness of technique by rectifying the problem after reaching die turn in 40.

"I was swinging too long," he said afterwards. The solution was, to shorten the backswing and hit a two iron off the tee at the 10th. It led to a 15 foot birdie. Then came a chip in birdie at the short 12th. The Tiger was on the move.

The 485 yard 13th was reached with a six iron second shot for a two putt birdie. Suddenly, the atmosphere became electric on the most famous stretch in championship golf. With a huge drive down the 500 yard 15th, Woods had only 151 yards to the hole, which he negotiated with a pitching wedge. And a five foot putt went down for an eagle.

Anything seemed possible now. In the event, Woods needed only a lob wedge second shot of 87 yards at the 400 yard 17th to set up another birdie. And after a par at the last, he was only a stroke outside the record 29 for the back nine, set by Mark Calcavecchia.

"I'm glad to have got through that round," he said. "I had to dig down and find something within myself. Now, I know exactly what I have to do from here on.

When Couples spoke about the greens, it was mid afternoon and the wind remained a factor. A few hours later, however, it was practically still and the less difficult back nine suddenly became vulnerable. Huston covered it in 31 strokes, while Stankowski had an inward 33, the same as Costantino Rocca, who led the European challenge with Jose Maria Olazabal on 71.

There was a rather special element to Azinger's performance. By his own admission, it was the first time he had felt really competitive since returning full time to the tour in 1995, having undergone chemotherapy and radiation treatment for lymphoma of the right shoulder blade.

Significantly, his best performances in the "majors" since capturing the 1993 USPGA Championship at Inverness were here in Augusta in 1995 (tied 17th) and last year (tied 18th).

"Golf is now a priority in my life once more," he said. "I was a little jumpy today on the first tee, which was quite a change from the last two years when I felt calm and almost uncaring." As a bonus, he was paired with US Ryder Cup skipper Tom Kite - "I'm pleased he had the chance to look at me playing decently."

It was also a remarkable day in other ways. For instance, Tom Watson's par at the long second was his 1,000th in the Masters. The total, in 89. 11 rounds which included victories in 1977 and 1981, comprised 241 at the par threes 601 at the par fours and 158 at the par fives.

But for the most part, Augusta experience didn't seem to count for very much. On the way to a crippling 85, Loren Roberts five putted the first for a seven, and Scott Hoch, who had an opening 67 last year, was 12 strokes worse off on this occasion when a round of 79 included two, ugly sixes.

The second of these came at the ninth which Hoch actually hit in, regulation, only to see his first putt, from above the hole, career off the green and back onto the fairway. And Ken Green, returning to the event after a lapse of six years, carded a crushing 87 strokes, 44 of which were on the greens.

The putting horror stories didn't end there. In fact they became so numerous as the day progressed that one could afford to be selective. In that context, Dan Forsman merited special mention insofar as he three putted six of the first seven greens before fighting back for a highly creditable 74.

Meanwhile, so effectively did Greg Norman clear his mind of last year's heartbreak that he repeated several of those errors in a dispiriting 77. He escaped with a par at the first, despite blocking his drive into trees on the right, but paid the full price for four putts with a double bogey at the long second.

Then there was a wretched eight at the 13th by reigning US Open champion Steve Jones, who ended the day on 82. And Seve Ballesteros, who was 40 on Wednesday, failed to find the inspiration he sought from his favourite venue in a round of 81.

Huston, who led the first round with a 66 in 1990, started spectacularly with a four iron chip into the hole for a par at the first. And by the time he had birdied the long 15th, he shared the lead with Stankowski on four under par.

Stankowski, who was plying his trade on the Nike Tour little more than a year ago, had swept to the top of the leaderboard by finishing birdie, birdie. And not to be outdone, Huston also covered the last two holes in two under, albeit after a bogey at the short 16th, where he missed the green right.

In his case, however, the closing effort was a holed five iron of 190 yards from among the trees on the right, after he had over cut his drive. "I finished the way I started," he said with a grin, having devised his own method of mastering the greens.