IN SEARCH OF A DREAM KOVACS VIES FOR BERTH IN THE U.S. OPEN.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

Kyle Kovacs takes his seven-year bid for an opportunity to play in a major event featuring PGA Tour players Monday, when the 29-year-old Van Nuys resident plays in a U.S. Open sectional qualifier at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana.

All it will take for Kovaks to secure his first berth in the major tournament - the June 16-19 USGA U.S. Open Championship at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina - is a top-four finish at El Caballero.

Put another way, all it will take is finishing ahead of more than five dozen other extremely talented, equally motivated and in some cases more experienced entries over 36 holes on what traditionally has been one of the toughest courses the USGA uses for its final-stage qualifying.

El Caballero, which will be hosting its fifth sectional in nine years, has 1987 U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson in a 68-man field that will include area PGA Tour pros David Berganio Jr. of Granada Hills and Steve Pate of Agoura Hills - a former U.S. Ryder Cup team member.

Kovacs is happy for the challenge just to get the one-day opportunity after grinding in golf's minor leagues since turning pro in 1998, five years after graduating from Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks.

``It's not a tournament I set my sights on,'' he said, ``Because it's kind of a crapshoot since there's only 18 holes (in first-stage qualifying to get to sectional play).''

Kovacs survived the 18-hole stage with a 1-under-par 71 to claim the last of six sectional berths available in a May 16 local qualifier at TPC at Valencia, putting himself in position for a career milestone on Monday.

``It's nice to have the feeling to have one day to get there,'' he said of the chance of jumping from El Caballero to the USGA national championship.

``An event like this can be a real springboard for somebody,'' said Roger Gunn, the 2001 Southern California PGA Teacher of the Year who got to two U.S. Opens as a sectional qualifier - including a 1997 berth out of El Caballero - and has been helping Kovacs refine his game.

Agoura Hills resident Gunn is as aware as anyone of the pressure Kovacs can expect in his first sectional attempt, especially if he is playing well. Gunn, who moved on from his first sectional advancement to tie eventual winner Curtis Strange for the first-round lead in the 1989 U.S. Open, said the excitement level for sectional contenders can be almost suffocating.

``This is a life-long dream for most players,'' said Gunn, who believes Kovacs has the ability to make that dream come true Monday.

Dave Shelburne, [phone]

dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

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Granada Hills alum Kyle Kovacs will compete at a U.S. Open qualifier Monday.

Joel P. Lugavere/Staff Photographer

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