GOLF REPORT

The 67th annual Illinois PGA Championship starts a three-day runtoday at Kemper Lakes with two new faces.

Gary Pinns and Rick Dalpos, who have been struggling on the protours for several years, will make their first appearances in thesection championship.

"I couldn't have played before," said Pinns, "because I wasn't aClass A member of the PGA of America. I didn't find out I waseligible until just before the entry deadline."

Pinns completed the necessary classwork for Class A status andcould create a new niche in Illinois golf history if he can beat a148-man field, almost all club professionals.

No player has won the state's two major titles - the IllinoisOpen and Illinois PGA - in the same year. Pinns won his fifthIllinois Open three weeks ago at Midlane.

"I've thought about that," said Pinns. "I don't know that it'llbe a long-standing thing for me to be able to play in the IllinoisPGA. They (the PGA of America sections) keep changing the rules tokeep guys who play all year from playing in these tournaments."

Pinns, who has been playing on the PGA's new Ben Hogan Tourthis year, will be making his first solo tournament appearance atKemper Lakes.

He and his brother Doug did poorly in his only competitiveround at the 1989 PGA Championship site, a club pro-club championevent in 1980. Gary has played the layout only about five times, thelast at least two years ago.

The Illinois PGA dates back to 1923, the Illinois Open to 1950.Eight players - Bill Ogden, Errie Ball, Bob Harris, Chuck Malchaski,Dick Hart, Jack Fleck, Emil Esposito and Bob Ackerman - have won bothtitles, but none in the same year. GROH TO DEFEND: Bob O'Link's Gary Groh, the IPGA champion threetimes in seven years, could make history, too.

A fourth title would pull Groh even with Jim Foulis. JohnnyRevolta and Ogden won five times.

Groh, who won last year, comes in as the season leader in theIPGA Bernardi Point standings, which determines the section player ofthe year.

"My game has improved since the Illinois Open (he finished11th)," Groh said. "A lot of my problems then came from my puttinggame." He found a new putter, with a titanium shaft, that hasimproved his play on the greens. AMATEURS IN QUALIFIERS: Today offers a good opportunity to comparetwo of Chicago's top new courses.

Wynstone and Bull Valley, both of which opened last year, willhost 101-player, 36-hole eliminations for the U.S. Men's Amateur.Six from each site will advance. All entrants have handicap indexesof not more than 3.4.

Chip Travis, who won the Chicago District Amateur, and JoelHirsch, who will bid for his third straight Illinois Amateur crownnext week, form an ideal pairing at Wynstone.

The U.S. Amateur drew a record 4,765 entries and only 12 wereexempt from qualifying rounds. OAK CLUB OUT: Oak Club of Genoa, formerly Ellwood Greens, instituteda mandatory power cart policy, and it cost the club two tournaments.

The Northern Illinois Men's Amateur Golf Association, whichwon't hold events on courses that require the use of carts, pulledthis weekend's B Flight competition and September's ChampionshipFlight Two-Man Best Ball out of the club.

This week's B Flight tourney will be held at Glenwoodie andSeptember's Championship Best Ball at Fresh Meadows. LPGA CLOSING IN: Steve Lesnik of Kemper Sports Management says a"potential sponsor" has been found for a Chicago Ladies PGA tour event in late summer of 1991 and talks havebegun on a TV contract. BITS: Crystal Lake architect Bob Lohman is redesigning the 27-holeSchaumburg Golf Club, which was known as Golden Acres before theSchaumburg Park District took it over. Construction of a newclubhouse will begin in December. Chicago's Larry Packard was one of six finalists as architect forthe new LPGA Headquarters Championship course in Daytona, Beach, Fla. The Sun Newspapers-Timber Trails Prep Classic will be held Aug. 13.Deadline for entering the event, which is open to all high schoolstudents, is Friday. Fee is $18. For details call (708) 352-8030. The second annual Better Boys Foundation Celebrity tournament willbe held Aug. 20 at Bull Valley. Retired NFL players will form thecelebrity contingent for the five-man scramble. For more informationcall Cheryl Miller (312) 427-4434. Bulls commentator Johnny "Red" Kerr will be featured at the fourthannual Illinois Masonic Medical Center outing Sept. 10 at OlympiaFields. For details call (312) 883-7150. Eighteen teams will compete in the Ram Intercollegiate Sept. 23-25at Dubsdread. Host Illinois will welcome Miami of Ohio, Wisconsin,South Florida, Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Rice, Air Force,Wyoming, Colorado, Northwestern, Kent State, Kansas, Kentucky,Washington, Louisville, Missouri and Mississippi for the 54-holeevent. The second annual Revie Sorey Action to Block Out HungerClassic will be held Sept. 24 at Lake Hills. Entry is $150. Fordetails call 708-978-2727 or 219-365-8601. The second St. Charles Open, with a $10,000 purse - $2,000 to thewinner - will be held at Pheasant Run on Oct. 13-14. The field willbe limited to 132 players. For details call Dennis Johnsen or KirkLundbeck, (708) 584-6300, extension 7722.