Familiarity breeds birdies for younger Stadler at Riviera

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Kevin Stadler fired a 30 on the back nine at Riviera on Thursday.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- The physique is decidedly familiar, "unfortunately," he'll tell you with a wry grin. So was seeing the family name atop the leaderboard at Riviera Country Club on Thursday.

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Kevin Stadler is the son of the man who won what is now known as the Northern Trust Open in 1996 and finished second in his title defense. And Craig's little boy is making a strong bid to continue that legacy.

The Walrus pup, who turns the big 3-0 on Friday, fired a first-round 65 at Riviera to tie for second with Andres Romero, one stroke behind Dustin Johnson. The round of 6 under was one stroke better than his father ever shot on the storied layout.

"I love this course," Kevin Stadler said. "This is one of my favorite courses in the world. ... A lot of history here, and ... I played here a lot in college. I walked around here watching my old man for years and just feel real comfortable here."

Stadler wasn't in the gallery when his father won at Riviera in 1996, though. He remembers watching the TV broadcast and that his father shot low on the back nine Sunday. The younger Stadler had a 30 of his own there on Thursday.

Following in a father's footsteps is never easy -- particularly when your dad is a major champion. Yet Stadler is enormously patient with people who ask him -- for the umpteenth time -- if he realizes how much he resembles his father and has such similar mannerisms.

"I've watched him play golf for 30 years now, so I think a little bit of that sunk into me," Stadler said. "He was a good guy to emulate growing up, watching him play, for sure.

Stadler has just started his fifth year on TOUR. He has yet to win, although he lost on the third hole of a playoff at the Wyndham Championship last year. That also happened to be a tournament his father had won, in 1980, so maybe there's some synergy here. He certainly gained confidence in Greensboro.

"You know, just more than anything just kind of helps mentally to know that I definitely have what it takes to play out here," Stadler said. "I felt that week wasn't very different than any other week out there. I'd say my ball striking that week was very average personally. I just happened to make a lot of putts.

"I've kind of struggled out here just feeling like I really belong out here. It's my fifth year. I've been out here for a while, and it's kind of a shame it's taken that long to get comfortable out here. Seeing all those guys growing up and then all of a sudden I'm out here playing with them. First couple years, it was kind of a little surreal, and then it sinks in and needed to get after it and just kind of realize this is where I'm at now."

Should Stadler go on to win this week, he would become the second son in three weeks to win a tournament that his father also won. Bill Haas got his breakthrough victory at the Bob Hope Classic 22 years after his dad Jay won in Palm Springs.

"That was cool to see for him," Stadler said.

The Stadlers have won tournaments on the same day, though. In 2004, Craig won the Bank of America Championship on the Champions Tour minutes before Kevin captured the Lake Erie Charity Classic on the Nationwide Tour.

Stadler set the tone for the first round when he birdied his first three holes at Riviera -- putting his tee shot left of the green at the drivable par-4 10th and making a 4-footer, getting up and down at the par-5 11th and rolling in a 10-footer at No. 12. He added three more birdies on the back nine to make the turn in 30.

Stadler, who went to school at nearby Southern Cal, ranked first in greens hit (16 of 18) and tied for third in fairways hit (11 of 14). He estimated that he was able to play Riviera twice a month while he was in college, so he knows the course extremely well.

On Thursday, Stadler played with close friends Ricky Barnes, who shot 66, and Jeff Quinney, whose caddy used to be his roommate. Stadler said he couldn't have asked for a better pairing than his friends from junior and college golf.

"There are no other guys I'm more comfortable with than those two out here, really," Stadler said. "I know Jeff's mom was walking around out there, and I heard her telling some people, oh, these guys grew up playing together. It was really comfortable. I think everybody was pretty loose all day."