Valencia a Path to U.S. Open : Golf: Workers toughen up local course in preparation for U.S. Open qualifier. Five of 62 entrants make the field.

Wayne Mills started working at Valencia Country Club in 1975, when he was still a fuzzy-faced Hart High student.

Twenty years later, he is the course superintendent and Valencia has developed a reputation as one of the state’s top courses.

For the second time in three years, Valencia today will play host to a U.S. Open sectionalqualifier, one of 13 sites in the nation.

A field of 62 players are vying for five available berths in the Open, which will be played June 15-18 at Shinnecock Hills, N.Y.

The 36-hole qualifier begins at 7:30 a.m. Spectators are welcome.

Valencia, which opened in 1965 and was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., hosted an Open sectional qualifier in 1993 and a local qualifier in 1991.

“It’s a compliment [being selected],” Mills said. “It gives us a chance to showcase the work our guys do.”

Mills’ crew has some new wrinkles in store for the field. Greens have been trimmed and will rate an icy 10 1/2 on the stimp meter, which measures putting pace.

The rough will be 2 1/2 inches high. From the championship gold tees, Valencia will measure a little more than 7,000 yards.

“It’ll be somewhat tougher than normal, but not insufferably tough,” Mills said. “These guys have to play 36 holes.”

Mills may be the most-talked-about man at Valencia for the next week or so. Club membership is bound to have an opinion on his tinkering.

“I’m sure I’ll get compliments and I’m sure I’ll get complaints,” he said.

“The low handicappers are going to have the time of their lives for a few days. The others are going to hate life for a while.”

Jason Gore, who played at Hart High, leads the list of area entrants. A two-time Pacific 10 Conference individual champion, Gore last month won a State Amateur qualifier at Rio Bravo Resort in Bakersfield by nine shots.

A pair of former Cal State Northridge standouts, Bob Burns and Jeff Sanday, will play in the same threesome. Burns plays on the PGA Tour and Sanday is an amateur.

Chris Zambri of Thousand Oaks, a pro who played at Westlake High and USC, won a local Open qualifier at North Ranch on May 22 with a six-under-par 66. Jon Fiedler of Camarillo, Rich Greenwood of Tarzana and Richard Rodriguez of Encino also are entered. All are pros.

Tim Hogarth of Van Nuys and Terry Noe of Sunny Hills High--the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion--are among the 17 amateurs entered.