ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE : TIGER SHOW KIDS HOW DREAMS CAN COME TRUE YOUNGSTERS GET IN SWING ON GREENS.

Byline: Anne Burke Daily News Staff Writer

He's young, African-American and ambitious. He's got a great swing, supportive parents, and a smile that could make a girl weak-kneed.

But Gary Sonkur is no Tiger Woods - not yet, anyway.

He is not the quietly gracious golfer who set a new standard this weekend by winning the prestigious Masters tournament by the largest margin ever, as the youngest player in history and as the first African-American.

Yet Woods' monumental win has shown Sonkur, 14, that anything can be done, and now the teen-ager says he at least knows that issues of race and age can't hold back his game.

``Sort of like Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier,'' said Sonkur, who teed up Monday with classmates at the par-72 Hansen Dam Golf Course.

All that stands in the way of Sonkur making it big are a few little things. Like a handicap, for instance.

``I haven't played 18 holes yet,'' Sonkur said sheepishly, heading toward the tree where his ball had rolled.

Well, so what?

Sonkur and his golf teammates from Montclair College Preparatory School in Van Nuys didn't start as early on the links as Woods. They were still shaking baby rattles when Woods was swinging sawed-off clubs.

But on Monday, that didn't stop them from dreaming about following in his footsteps.

``I'm going to try, but, you know I can't aim my whole life at sports. I'm thinking about going into medicine,'' said Sonkur, wearing a backward baseball cap.

Classmate Mark Wagar said he's as inspired by Woods' $40 million, five-year Nike contract as he is by his monster drives.

``If I got that good, I wouldn't have to work,'' Wagar said.

Woods, 21, shot a three-under-par 69 Sunday to become the youngest golfer and first nonwhite to win the Masters.

Woods' awe-inspiring performance over the weekend has kept the classmates gushing.

``Watching him, he's phenomenal,'' said Jake Glucksman, a Montclair junior and golfer.

``He's a major influence on the kids,'' said the boys' coach, Edgar Gonzales. ``I have a couple of minorities out here now. Before it was predominantly white.

``They know a sweet swing when they see one, and he definitely has a sweet swing.''

Woods' amazing performance served to keep one teen-ager off the links.

Instead of playing golf Sunday afternoon, 17-year-old J.T. Kohut of Westlake Village sat in front of his TV for three hours, watching Woods make history. Kohut, a sophomore at Westlake High School, is considered to be the top young golfer in the San Fernando Valley area.

``It's astonishing''

``It was really exciting just to know what he's done,'' Kohut said. ``His mental game is stronger than any I've ever seen. He broke six records in his rookie year at the Masters. It's astonishing. All the things together make people watch him. People watch him because of his 300-yard drives. Others watch him because he makes 30-foot putts under pressure. What attracts me is how he plays under pressure. He's so good.''

Kohut went out Monday to play golf and felt inspired by Woods' performance.

``The higher goals you set, the better you'll become. He's shown that,'' Kohut said. ``I've been wanting to become a professional golfer, and it makes me want to do it even more. I don't want to be Tiger, I want to be J.T.''

But how about the fact that Woods is just four years older than Kohut?

``I think about that,'' Kohut said. ``I can't believe it. I'm speechless.

``I thought it was the best thing to happen in the game in a long time. It was a serious wakeup call for the rest of the golf world because they have to get better - fast,'' said Dennis Ford, golf coach at Hart High School in Newhall.

While the golf courses were bustling Monday, Woods' stunning performance did not carry over into booming business Monday for local golf retailers.

Some said his impact already had been felt before the final putt fell at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

``You can't really judge it by today because everybody has to go back to work,'' said Jim Honer, assistant manager at Las Vegas Discount Golf and Tennis in Encino.

The economic impact Woods has had on the retail sector is manifesting itself in a bonding experience between sons and fathers.

Brian Petersen, manager at Roger Dunn in North Hollywood, said sales of equipment to juniors jumped twofold in the months since Woods won his third consecutive U.S. Amateur title last summer and then turned professional.

In the past fathers would bring in old clubs to be cut down for their children. Now they invest in new equipment.

``Now we get 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds buying $800 sets of clubs,'' he said.

And Woods' dismantling of Augusta National on Sunday was definitely on the minds of all his customers Monday.

And equipment and apparel sales typically quicken at this time of year, a fact that has more to do with the Masters itself than any individual player, he said.

``Augusta always spurs us onward and upward and I would not say we have had any more business (today) because of him,'' Petersen said of Woods.

One thing is for certain, though.

Golf clothes with the Nike swoosh emblem have been hot commodities for the past four or five months.

``Nike apparel is flying out of here,'' Petersen said. ``My Greg Norman collection is not going as well as my Nike stuff, but it still sells well.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Tiger Woods at the Masters.

Associated Press

(2 -- color) Montclair Prep eighth-graders Nicholas Matus, left, and Gary Sonkur wait to tee off Monday at Hansen Dam Golf Course.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News

(3) J.T. Kohut, 17, of Westlake Village watches his putt at Vista Valencia Golf Course on Monday. Kohut cites Tiger Woods as a role model.

David R. Crane/Daily News