2 EVENTS TO LIVEN SUMMER; AMATEUR WILL HAVE BIG FIELD.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

It's tournament time in Simi Valley, where the Simi Hills Golf Course will host two of its biggest events of the year in the next two months.

The club is taking signups for both the Oldsmobile Scramble, a four-person team event held July 22-23, and the Simi Valley Amateur Championship on Aug. 5-6.

The Amateur, the club's biggest tournament of the year, had 185 players last year, and club officials expect to top that number this year. The golfers will compete in two divisions in the 36-hole tournament, with the championship flight paying $500 in scrip for first place and the net flights each paying $300 in scrip.

All players may participate in the championship flight, and the net flights will be determined by handicap.

The $125 entry fee includes golf, tee gifts, prizes, trophies and continental breakfast and lunch on the first day. The entry deadline is July 28.

The Oldsmobile Scramble entry fee is $50 per person. Only one of the four team members can have a negative handicap and the total team handicap cannot be below plus-1 or exceed plus-8. Any teams with a plus-9 handicap or higher will be assigned a plus-8.

--World traveler: Mark Modglin, who will be a senior at Simi Valley High this fall, is off to a strong start on the junior golf circuit this summer.

This week, Modglin participated in the American Junior Golf Association Junior at Oak Tree, held at the par-70 Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond, Okla. After Wednesday's second round, Modglin was in seventh place out of 50 players.

Modglin began the tournament Tuesday with two birdies on the front nine and finished with an even-par 70, which earned him a tie for eighth place, four shots back of Martin Flores of Mansfield, Texas.

Modglin shot a 2-over 72 in Wednesday's second round and entered the final round trailing leader Ben McCaslin of Dallas by seven strokes. Chris McLaughlin, also of Simi Valley, was tied for 42nd after rounds of 84 and 79.

Last week, Modglin started strongly in the Lessing's Inc. AJGA Classic in Weston, Conn., but faded. His first-round four-over 75 earned him a tie for ninth place, but he followed with rounds of 78 and 82 and tied for 32nd.

Tim Kane of Simsbury, Conn., shot rounds of 76, 71 and 73 to beat Nick Cook of Shelton, Conn., by one stroke.

--New pro in town: Lost Canyons Golf Club, scheduled to open this fall in Simi Valley, has selected John McCook as its head pro.

McCook, 29, previously served as head pro at Ocean Trails in Palos Verdes and will oversee the entire operation of the course, which includes the pro shop, tournaments, group functions, the practice facility and the golf school.

``We are extremely fortunate to have McCook in charge of our operation at Lost Canyons,'' said Jay Colliate, the club's project director and director of golf. ``He has worked at some of the finest golf courses in Southern California and his experience and ability to relate to people will help make our facility one of the finest public golf courses in the nation.''

Lost Canyons will feature two 18-hole courses in the foothills of the Santa Susana mountains, designed by Pete Dye. The first course is scheduled to open in October.