GOLF / SHAV GLICK : Strange Hopes Third Time for Medinah Is Charm for His Streak

Magnificent Medinah, which started in the 1920s as a social club for Shriners in the suburbs west of Chicago and ended up as one of the finest golfing facilities in the country, will be on display again next week when the United States Open is held there for the third time.

Curtis Strange, who won at Brookline, Mass., in 1988 and at Rochester, N.Y., last year, will attempt to become the first player to win three consecutive Opens since Willie Anderson in 1903-05. No one since Ben Hogan in 1950-51 won two in a row before Strange.

First, though, the field must be filled for the June 14-17 tournament.

Final 36-hole qualifying rounds will be played at 12 sites Monday and Tuesday. One of those sites is the San Francisco Golf Club, where 61 players will compete Tuesday for six starting spots at Medinah.

Among the hopeful golfers are Rick Rhoads, former USC star and host pro at San Francisco; Brad Greer, two-time Southern California Amateur champion from Huntington Beach, and Howie Johnson of Rancho Mirage, Bobby Lasken of Whittier and Rich Greenwood of Encino--all of whom recently played well on the Asian professional tour.

Medinah No. 3, the crown jewel of the 54-hole facility, was built originally as a women’s course, but when the men discovered that it was the best test of the three courses, they took it over. The women of Medinah now have No. 2 as their own.

The massive brick clubhouse and the three courses were completed in 1928, but it wasn’t until 1949 that the first U.S. Open was played at Medinah. The No. 3 course, originally built at 6,200 yards, has been stretched over the years to 7,366 yards, all heavily wooded. The centerpiece of Medinah is Lake Kadijah--named for the first wife of Mohammed--55 acres of water that comes into play on a number of holes.

Cary Middlecoff won the Open there in ‘49, when he defeated frustrated Sam Snead by one stroke, and Lou Graham beat John Mahaffey in a playoff in 1975. Neither time did the winner equal par. Middlecoff was two over, and Graham and Mahaffey were three over.

Jack Nicklaus will have an added incentive when he plays in the British Open next month at St. Andrews in Scotland.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, fountainhead of golf, has made Nicklaus an honorary member--one of seven, including Arnold Palmer and Gene Sarazen. Nicklaus, 50, won two of his three British Open titles at St. Andrews--in 1970 and 1978.

In making the announcement, St. Andrews said that honorary membership is offered only to “princes of the Royal Blood and distinguished persons who in the opinion of the committee have made a significant contribution to the game of golf.”

The Los Angeles Open will remain in its spot as the final event on the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing, Feb. 21-24 at Riviera, according to the 1991 schedule announced by Commissioner Deane Beman.

As usual, the Tournament of Champions will start the season, Jan. 3-6 at La Costa. The only switch from this year is the swapping of dates between the Bob Hope Classic in Palm Springs and the Hawaiian Open. After La Costa, the tour will stop in Tucson, Hawaii and Phoenix before returning to California for the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Jan. 31-Feb. 3.

The Hope will be next, Feb. 6-10, followed in successive weeks by the San Diego tournament at Torrey Pines and the L.A. Open.

Golf Notes

Players Golf West, the California-based tour for women pro golfers, will be at Buddy Allin’s Sun Lakes CC in Banning today for a pro-celebrity tournament that will include entertainers Johnny Mathis and Hal Linden. A 54-hole pro-am worth about $20,000 will start Monday. Next week, the tour will be at Spring Valley Lake CC in Victorville. . . . Herb Goyen, 50, of Pinnacle Peak CC in Scottsdale, Ariz., shot a two-under-par 214 for 54 holes to win the U. S. National Senior Open Golf Assn. Championship in Palm Springs. Low amateur was Paul Ladin of Westlake Village with a 216. . . . The fifth annual Monahan’s tournament, with McLean Stevenson as host of the benefit for the Children’s Burn Foundation, will be played next Sunday at Brookside No. 1 in Pasadena.

It wasn’t funny for comedians Bob Newhart and Dick Martin when Newhart shot a par three and Martin a birdie two, and both lost when Bill Bixby aced the 213-yard 10th hole at Bel-Air. With their handicaps, the trio had a net total of three. . . . One of the toughest par-threes in Southern California, Bel-Air No. 10, was also aced by Jim Mahoney Jr. His father, Jim Mahoney Sr., had a hole-in-one on the same hole 10 years ago.

Bob Burns, the Cal State Northridge junior who won the NCAA Division II championship, will tee it up Wednesday in the British Amateur at Muirfield in Scotland. Burns, who lives in Granada Hills, is a cart attendant at Valencia CC, where he is also the course record-holder with a 65. . . . The Women’s SoCal Golf Assn. Senior Championship will be played Monday and Tuesday at the Candlewood and Old Ranch courses, with WSCGA super seniors holding their own tournament Tuesday at South Hills. . . . Sue Ewart of Old Ranch lost the California Women’s Amateur championship to Ann Lahey of the Meadow Club on the 37th hole in the final at San Joaquin CC. Ewart shared medalist honors with Linda Olsen of PGA West. Both shot 72s.

Greg Norman of Australia is No. 1 in the Sony World Rankings, followed by Nick Faldo of England and Seve Ballesteros of Spain. The first American, Curtis Strange, is fourth, followed by Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, Payne Stewart, Ian Woosnam of Wales, Mark Calcavecchia, Paul Azinger and Tom Kite. . . . Feminists may cringe, but when promoters of the Hennessey Cup in France decided to offer appearance money, they chose two LPGA members, Tammie Green and Deborah McHaffie, for their looks rather than choosing two for their playing ability. Neither are in the top 50 money winners, and the $30,000 they received from the European tour event is more than their year’s earnings.

Gary Player has been named sportsman of the century by the Confederation of South Africa Sport. . . . Vince Ferragamo will play host to his eighth annual Special Olympics tournament Tuesday at Los Coyotes CC. . . . Cal Poly Pomona’s 11th annual Bronco tournament will be played on June 11 at Via Verde CC. . . . Jack Holton and Thomas Shoar of Upland were selected to represent Casa Colina’s Padua Village in the Lexus National Tournament of Champions after they qualified in a fund-raising tournament at Red Hill CC. The tournament raised $114,000 to help maintain residential living centers in Claremont for developmentally disabled and brain-injured adults. . . . Golden State Golf Tours will conduct the Greater Palm Springs Open June 12-14 at Indian Wells.