By HOWARD WARD

They come to the course in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Some of them are seeking to prove a point. Some just want to see if they have the game. And some of them are looking for the thrill of a lifetime.

They’re all members of the Carolinas PGA Section, and they’re attempting to qualify for the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. The GGCC is the only PGA Tour event held in North Carolina and it’s a golden opportunity for a couple of lucky club professionals who can find the magic for one more day.

There are plenty of good golfers in the Carolinas PGA Section. Bob Boyd has been a member of the PGA Tour. So has Chris Tucker. And David Thore. Others have tried to get there, but joined the thousands of players who couldn’t make it through the grueling Tour Qualifying School.

Tim Dunlavey of Spartanburg, S.C., the CPGA Player of the Year, has already earned his spot into the GGGC with his triumph in the 2000 Carolinas Section Championship Tournament.

Daniel Thore, brother of David and a good player in his own right, is one of the lucky few who have survived the gut-test for the GGCC. He and David both qualified in 1992 and he made the field again in 1994. But he knows the odds are high even as he prepares his game for the March 26 test at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro.

"I’ll be there," he said from behind the desk at Wolf Creek Golf Club in Reidsville which he and David lease and operate, "but there won’t be that much pressure. You know going in that there are only two spots available, so you go hoping for the best and expecting the worst."

Thore planned to hone his game a little, but wasn’t going to do anything radical.

"I don’t do anything much different from normal," he said. "I usually try to play a few rounds, but that’s about it."

Thore understands the task facing him and accepts that. He’s one of the better players in the Carolinas Section, but that’s a much different level than the PGA Tour.

"Those four and five-foot putts are so important," he said. "I’ve only qualified twice and didn’t make the cut either time. I shot 74-74 the last time. I think the greens are the biggest difference. The PGA is strict about wanting hard and fast greens and they don’t allow them to be watered. By Friday, they’re like concrete – really slick. That’s not something we CPGA players are used to.

"I figure if I could play on the Tour for three or four weeks in a row, I could get used to it. But with the greens so hard, you have to learn to hit your irons from different distances than you’re accustomed.

"It would be great if I could qualify and make the cut. If you make the cut in a Tour event, you earn as much money as you would for winning one of our Section majors. But it’s hard to get comfortable out there and play your own game. You find yourself looking around at all the players you’ve seen on TV."

Tucker has played in the Greensboro tournament three times, the last in 1995. Tucker spent a year on the PGA Tour, but has never made the cut at Greensboro.

"All three times that I played, I got in by being the Section champion," Tucker said. "I’ve tried to qualify by playing my way in but haven’t made it that way.

"I know what it takes, though, because I went to the PGA Qualifying School 13 or 14 times before making it. When you’re in a field and only a couple of guys are going to qualify, you have to have a mindset that you’re going to shoot a low score.

"In the past, I think I may have a little too conservative. But you have to play well and shoot something like 68 or 69 to have a chance."

Bob Groff of Reidsville has played in the Greensboro tournament four times – the last time in 1993 – but never made the cut and doesn’t even try to qualify anymore. Groff was a dominant player in the Carolinas a few years ago, but has changed his priorities since realizing that he wasn’t going to make it onto the PGA Tour.

"I’m 46 years old," he said, "and I’m following basketball right now."

Groff, a former club professional in Greensboro who now works for Pegram Golf Concepts in Winston-Salem, has played in almost a dozen PGA Tour events over the years, including the PGA Championship five times, but has never made a cut.

"The hardest thing for me was playing in my hometown," he said. "I did better when I played out of state. At Greensboro, I always had 50 of 60 club members watching me and I wanted to do well for them. Instead, I played terrible. One year I shot 83 in the first round – didn’t make a par on the front nine. I felt like an idiot.

"I haven’t played any competitive golf in four months and have no edge at all right now. If the GGCC was in July or August, I might try to qualify if I felt my game was in shape. But not now."

Kelly Mitchum is an assistant professional at Pinehurst Country Club where he works in the resort’s Learning Center. A former All-American at N.C. State University and a North and South Amateur champion, he was hoping to try qualifying at Forest Oaks.

But he had other priorities, too. His wife was expecting a baby any day and he was putting everything else on hold.

"I’d like to play," he said, "but everything is day-to-day. This is my first child and I’m not leaving home."

Mitchum’s game is still sharp and he keeps in shape by playing as much as possible on the Pinehurst No. 2 Course.

"I played in the U.S. Open in 1995," he said, "and that was a great experience. If you haven’t played in a PGA Tour event, you’re definitely out of your comfort zone. You put a lot of pressure on yourself.

"You’re excited and nervous. It’s kind of like waiting for your first baby."