GOLF ROUNDUP : Huston Pulls Off Shoes, Then Pulls Off Feat: 68

John Huston overcame howling winds and an unusual ruling Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the first round of the Honda Classic at Coral Springs, Fla.

Huston, forced into new shoes by decree of the U.S. Golf Assn., birdied his last two holes for a four-under-par 68 on the TPC at Eagle Trace course. Winds gusted up to 45 m.p.h. during the round.

“On a day like this, that 68 is really more like a 65 or 64,” said British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia, who is two shots back in second place.

“With winds like this, anything under 75 is a good score. It was not unplayable, but it was very, very tough.”

It was Huston’s shoes that were unplayable. Or at least illegal, according to the USGA, golf’s rule-making body in the United States.

Huston shoes, Weight-Rite, feature a wedge on the outside edge, which forces the body’s weight to the inside of the foot, the desirable position for hitting a golf shot.

However, the USGA said the shoe violated rule 14-3B, which prohibits a player from using “an artificial device or equipment” which would aid him in making a stroke.

Huston was informed only moments before his morning tee time. He made a quick visit to the pro shop, purchased a pair of more conventional shoes and went about his business.

Calcavecchia, a playoff loser last week at Doral, sank an 80-yard wedge shot for an eagle-two on the 14th hole and finished with a round of 70.

Gil Morgan, Tim Simpson, Mark Brooks and Joel Edwards each shot 71. They were the only other players in the 144-man field to break par.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange, making his first start in this country in two months, had a 74.

The wind-blown scores were extremely high, with more than two dozen players at 80 or higher. Among them was an amateur, 16-year-old high school junior Chris Couch, who shot 82.

Japan’s Toru Nakamura shot a three-under-par 69 in the wind to take a one-stroke lead in the Imperial tournament in Sakuragawamura, Japan. American David Ishii, winner of the Hawaiian Open, shot a 75.