Jordan Dazzles At Hope Classic

January 21, 1999 / 2:21 AM EST / CBS/AP

At one point, Michael Jordan laughed so hard at pal Charles Barkley's wildly scattered shots that he fell to the ground and lay on his back guffawing.

Later, Jordan rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt to cap his day, the gallery roaring its approval.

Obviously enjoying life after basketball, the relaxed Jordan showed Wednesday that he can still hit some shots.

Playing in a Bob Hope Chrysler Classic group that included former NFL wide receiver Roy Green in the trio of amateurs teamed with the PGA's Payne Stewart, Jordan hit several long drives down the middle, made a few good chips and had one birdie per side.

Although he imposed a no-interview rule when he agreed to play in the tournament, Jordan chatted with fans and reporters during his round.

He and the loquacious Barkley kidded each other, with Stewart and Green often joining in, as they made their way around Bermuda Dunes Country Club, with an enthusiastic gallery, usually some six-deep, trailing them.

"Man, this is some group, kidding back and forth all day long," Jordan said.

Barkley started the round calmly before finally yelling and throwing a club when he hit over the green on the fourth hole. He hit his approach shot at the ninth hole over the green, over the crowd and bouncing toward the clubhouse. Jordan could hardly stop laughing after that shot.

"Charles hit so many bad shots ..." Jordan said afterward, grinning and shaking his head.

Although Jordan didn't hit many really bad shots, Barkley still was able to taunt him.

"He's a better golfer than I am and a better liar," Barkley said as the two warmed up on the driving range. "He says he's a 12 (handicapper) and I know I'm a lot closer to my handicap than he is."

Jordan actually was listed with a 10 handicap for the tournament, and Barkley with a 14. The team competition is best ball, so individual scores weren't kept for the amateurs.

As far as the professionals were concerned, John Huston, Tom Pernice and Ben Bates shared the first-round lead in the 90-hole tournament with 9-under-par scores of 63.

Defending champion Fred Couples opened with a 72 and David Duval, a runaway winner of the 1999 tour opener two weeks ago, shot a 70 in the first round.

Dressed completely in black but for his tan Panama hat, Jordan on one hole jokingly challenged Barkley and Green to $50 for birdies, then turned to the crowd and said, "Hey, I don't have a job."

The fans ate it up. "Michael Jordan's still Michael Jordan," said Gene Andersen, who said he was both a basketball and golf fan. "He looks just about as athletic on the olf course as he did on the basketball court. He hits the ball well, although he's a little erratic."

Jordan played like a touring pro at the start, then drove out of bounds on the fifth hole. Since he obviously wasn't going to get the low score in his group, he strolled up the fairway, unlit cigar in his mouth, watching his partners.

Jordan revealed when he announced his retirement from the Chicago Bulls last week that he wouldn't have been able to play basketball for awhile, anyway, because he cut a tendon in his right index finger with a cigar cutter.

That also may keep him from playing golf for awhile. He said he plans to have surgery on the finger next Monday.

"It's killing me," he said late in his opening round. "It hurts my swing. I have to take this finger off the club on every swing and it still hurts."

Asked if he thought he was going to be able to finish the tournament, which features pro-am competition the first four days of the five-day event, Jordan said "I don't know."