GENERATION XXERS MARK THE SPOT.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

Here we go again.

Wasn't it just yesterday Tiger Woods, David Duval, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Justin Leonard were being called the Young Guns of the PGA Tour?

Reality check: Duval, Mickelson, Els and Leonard have all passed 30, and El Tigre is a seven-year veteran of 26. Sure, they've won a combined 10 majors, but has any of them been asked to show proof of age recently?

The time is ripe, it would seem, for Generation XX.

Meet the Young Guns II: Sergio Garcia, Charles Howell III and David Gossett, each 22 years old, Matt Kuchar, 23, and Luke Donald, 24, all playing in this week's Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club.

But they're not really young. Young is Ty Tryon, who earned his PGA Tour card at age 17 by finishing 27th in Q School last year. That was nine months after Tryon made the cut and finished 39th as an amateur entry in the Honda Classic.

``I'm five years older than him,'' Howell said after Tryon asked for advice at Phoenix, where Tryon made his first 2001 start. ``So I guess I'm a veteran now.''

Howell is also the reigning tour rookie of the year, accomplishing that while starting off on sponsor exemptions in 2002 and parlaying those opportunities into $1.5 million in earnings as a non-tour member. The total, which would have placed him 33rd in earnings had he been a tour member, earned Howell special temporary status for this year. A little luck would have earned him the two-year exemption that goes with any tour victory.

He lost in a playoff at the Greater Milwaukee Open after birdieing the last six regulation holes. While third-year tour member Garcia of Spain leads these latest wunderkinds in victories with three, including this year's season-opening Mercedes Championships, the Americans are starting fast.

Howell, who won the 2000 NCAA title while at Oklahoma State, made 20 of 24 cuts en route to rookie of the year honors last year and is 4 for 4 this year with two top-10 finishes.

Gossett, who won the 1999 U.S. Amateur while attending University of Texas, won on tour last year while playing as a sponsor exemption, shooting 67-64-68-66 at the John Deere Classic.

Kuchar, whose 1997 U.S. Amateur championship as a Georgia Tech sophomore followed a three-year run by Woods, finished college before turning pro last year and has made the cut in 9 of 15 tour starts. He almost won as a sponsor exemption at the Texas Open, where he had a third-round 64 and finished second, three strokes behind Leonard.

Like Howell, Kuchar is playing on special temporary status this year, as the $572,699 he earned in 11 starts last year would have ranked him 91st on the money list that awards exempt status to the top 125 tour members from each previous year.

Donald, the Hempstead, England, native who won the 1999 NCAA title while playing for Northwestern, earned his tour card in December by finishing 23rd in Q School. He has made 3 of 4 cuts this year, including last week's Buick Invitational, where he shot a tournament-leading 65 in the opening round.

Kuchar, who made the cut in both the Masters and U.S. Open in 1998 as an amateur, tying for 14th in the Open, credits the influence and inspiration of former junior star Woods and the growth of junior golf for the success he and many other young pros and soon-to-be pros are enjoying.

``We attribute a lot to Tiger,'' he said. ``He's helped with the junior programs. I think he's had a big hand in helping that get to the level it is now.

``We were lucky as juniors. We had great competition. I played against Charles in all the junior tournaments. And David Gossett. And then in college we played against each other. We were kind of lucky we came along at that same age, and we all pushed each other.''

He looks for more of the same with upcoming juniors.

``It will keep coming around,'' Kuchar said, ``and I think everybody's just getting better. Tiger set that bar, and we're all chasing it. Everybody's got that dream of beating Tiger in some tournament.''

YOUNG GUNS

A list of PGA Tour members 25 years old and younger (from the official PGA Tour Web site: www.pgatour.com).

Ty Tryon 17

Sergio Garcia 22

David Gossett 22

Charles Howell 22

Matt Kuchar 23

Jonathan Byrd 24

Geoff Ogilvy 24

Luke Donald 24

Jess Daley 24

Ben Crane 25

Pat Perez 25

Rory Sabbatini 25

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) At 22, Charles Howell III is one of several young guns making their way through the professional circuit.

Robin Trimach/Associated Press

(2) MATT KUCHAR

He credits the influence of Tiger Woods as a reason for the success of young golfers such as himself.

Box:

YOUNG GUNS (see text)