COLBERT'S CRUSADE; SENIOR PGA STAR RAISES MONEY FOR CANCER RESEARCH.

Byline: DAVE SHELBURNE Golf

Two years ago, Jim Colbert was making it pretty clear he was the best finisher on the PGA Senior Tour, securing the money title in the tour's last event for a second consecutive season.

It was enough to earn Colbert a second straight Player of the Year award, putting him on a short list with Hall of Famer Lee Trevino as the only two-time winners in this decade. It was more impressive for the fact senior superstar Hale Irwin was a full-time player during Colbert's remarkable 1996 campaign.

But that was then. And while Colbert's achievement of '96 was noteworthy, it pales in importance to what he is trying to accomplish this year, on and off the course. Now, he wants to help thousands of others finish strong - free of the prostate cancer he and Arnold Palmer both survived with successful, and timely, surgery in 1997.

Colbert's mission is twofold: He wants to raise money for prostate cancer research, and he wants to raise awareness - something he says might be more immediately important, given the value of early detection of the disease which had an estimated 184,500 new cases diagnosed last year.

``If you're a male, 40 years old or older, you need to take a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test,'' Colbert said this week at Los Alamitos Race Track, where he is helping promote a $1 million hole-in-one contest to support the PGA's cancer-awareness program, Tour for the Cure.

``It's a simple little blood test that takes two minutes, and it's the most-accurate test for cancer in the world,'' Colbert said.

The 57-year-old former Kansas State football player is campaigning hard for PSA testing because he believes it saved his life.

``If you're age 40-60, taking this test can really help you if they catch it because, when you're that age, the odds are you've got the aggressive kind of cancer, like I had,'' Colbert said.

He believes he owes his life to his habit of regular check-ups.

``I was pretty normal one year, and the next year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer,'' he said. ``That's how quick it can happen. Had I skipped the check-up that year and gone another year, my odds would go down to 50-50 because it would have been out and running through my body, in all probability. When they catch it in the gland, they can really do something about it.''

Colbert credits Palmer for having the courage to speak publicly about the disease that previously had a dangerously low profile, despite the fact it is the most-commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in the nation, with a new case every 2-1/2 minutes.

``Arnold is the one that really came out of the closet to speak about this,'' Colbert said. ``When he did, that made it easy for Jim Colbert to speak up.''

Not a day goes by, Colbert said, when he doesn't hear from someone he never met, thanking him for his efforts.

Part of the effort of Colbert and Palmer is a program where birdies by senior tour players can earn donations to Tour for the Cure.

``I'll probably make 300 birdies this year,'' Colbert said. ``And with the pledges, my birdies are worth about $1,800 per birdie. And then CaP CURE, the private funding organization for prostate cancer research, is matching us dollar for dollar. So we're hoping to raise $5 million this first year for research.''

The $1 Million Challenge is another arm of the fund raising. From Sept. 21-25 at Los Alamitos, anyone can pay $1 for one shot at a 151-yard hole-in-one. Everyone whose ball stays on the green will be eligible for a drawing that will bring 10 people back on Sept. 26 in a shootout for a $1 million hole-in-one. Should anyone hit a hole-in-one during qualifying, he or she will be awarded a new car.

Colbert is his usual enthusiastic self when pitching the fund-raiser.

``A hole-in-one is 99 percent luck anyway,'' he said. `So everyone has the same chance, and you can take as many chances as you want for a dollar a shot.''

But he gets more serious about the awareness part: ``We're trying to raise money for the cure, but the best thing you can do right now is take the test. If you're over 40, take the test. It can save your life.''

Chatsworth opens: The newest practice facility in the San Fernando Valley is tentatively scheduled to open Sept. 14, when Chatsworth Golf Center opens what should be the most distinctive driving range in the area.

``We believe it's going to be pretty special, but not a ball has been hit yet,'' said general manager Scott Margolin.

Patrons taking their best shots from any of the 54 stalls on the new facility will have the opportunity to shoot at tree-guarded fairways - three of them. They'll also get to take aim at multiple raised targets on the lighted complex, which is located at 9760 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

The facility also has a 4,500-square-foot synthetic putting green and pro shop that will include equipment and apparel. A 2,200-square-foot bent-grass putting green should be ready for use by November, and a chipping green is also in the plans.

``The fairways will put more pressure on your tee shots, as opposed to just swinging into a wide-open range,'' said PGA teaching professional Gary Finneran, the former Cal State Northridge golfer and ex-Knollwood Country Club head pro who will be director of instruction at Chatsworth.

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PHOTO Jim Colbert, who survived prostate cancer, now works to raise money and educate the public.

Associated Press