LA JOLLA, Calif. Wayne Levi, who faded away after being named the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1990, may be on his way back.

Levi was bothered by back problems for much of 1998 and had played only four competitive rounds this year. Yet he shot a 6-under-par 66 today and was tied with three others for second place behind Ted Tryba in the opening round of the Buick Invitational.

Tryba finished strong, with two birdies and an eagle in his last five holes to shoot a 65.

In fact, a handful of journeymen had better rounds at Torrey Pines than Tiger Woods, who was among 11 players at 4-under 68.

"It's kind of early in the year to really expect a whole lot, but to shoot a good round, finally, feels good," Levi said. "It's just a matter of going out there and not making mistakes."

Sidelined in July, Levi came back in the Phoenix Open at the end of January, but withdrew after one round. He missed the cut at Pebble Beach last weekend.

But he started strong today on the Torrey Pines North Course, sinking a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 1. He followed that with an eagle on the par-4 No. 2 when his 105-yard second shot with a pitching wedge went a foot past the hole, then backed in.

He said his best shot was a 3-iron on the par-3 190 that went 3 1/2 feet past the hole, which he made for a birdie. He missed birdie putts of 6-7 feet on both 15 and 16.

"I played a good, solid round today," he said.

Levi is playing this season under a special medical exemption due to his back injury, which limited him to nine starts in 1998. He made only two cuts.

Levi, who turns 47 on Feb. 22, said his back hurt so bad last March that he could barely walk 30 yards without having to stop. "I thought I was going to come apart," he said.

He attributed to injury to wear and tear, and said intense therapy and exercises have "done wonders."

Tryba made an eagle putt on 14 after hitting a 3-wood to 10 feet, and two holes later sank a 50-foot putt after shooting out of a fairway bunker.

"I hit the ball solid all day," said Tryba, whose only PGA Tour win came at the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic in 1995. "You know you are playing well, out in front of the race, and you hope you don't smash into any walls and try to keep going."

Tryba's best finish in three tournaments this year was a 13th-place tie at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Tied with Levi behind Tryba were Chris Perry, Bob Burns and Katsumasa Miyamoto.

Frank Lickliter, who finished a shot behind Payne Stewart in the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, was in a group of five at 5-under 67.

Among those tied with Woods at 68 were 1992 Buick winner Steve Pate, Steve Elkington and Jason Gore, the medalist in Monday's qualifying round.

Starting on the North 10th, Woods parred his first nine holes before birdies on four of the first five holes on the front side dropped him to 4-under. He then bogeyed the par-3 No. 6, with his only other birdie coming on the par-5 ninth.

Even though several holes on the North Course were lengthened, it still played easier than the South, yielding the majority of the lowest scores. However, the new tee on 13, which was expected to keep players from cutting the dogleg left, wasn't used because of the prevailing wind.

Perry had the best showing on the South Course, reeling off five straight birdies on the front side, capping the run by chipping within four feet on the par-5 No. 6. He'll play the North on Friday, as all players have one round on each course before the cut.

Divots: Lickliter would need to win the Buick to jump into the top 64 on the Official World Golf Ranking and qualify for the $5 million Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa in two weeks. He's currently ranked 87. Rocco Mediate made a big jump after winning at Phoenix and is currently ranked 58th. ... Phil Mickelson, the 1993 Buick winner, shot a 72 Thursday and his brother Tim, an amateur, shot 79.