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Tom Lehman

Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former number 1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded the Player of the Year honor on all three PGA Tours: the regular PGA Tour, the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.[2]

Amateur career

Born in Austin, Minnesota, and raised in Alexandria, Lehman played college golf at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis–Saint Paul,[3] graduated with a degree in business/accounting, and turned professional in 1982.[4]

Professional career

It took Lehman many years to become a leading tour professional. He played on the PGA Tour with little success from 1983 to 1985, and was then obliged to play elsewhere for the following six seasons. This included time in Asia and South Africa and on the second tier Ben Hogan Tour in the United States. He regained his PGA Tour card by topping the Ben Hogan Tour's 1991 money list, and enjoyed unbroken membership of the PGA Tour from 1992 until shortly after he joined the Champions Tour. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1996.

From 1995 to 1997, Lehman held the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open, but each time failed to win. During this period he won his only major championship to date, The Open Championship in 1996.[5][6] In April 1997, he was Number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for what would be only one week. He has won five times on the PGA Tour, but in addition to his Open win these wins have included the season-ending Tour Championship and Memorial Tournament, and he has won at least nineteen professional events in total.

Although Lehman did not win a lot of tournaments on the PGA Tour he was one of the most consistent players on tour with 19 runner-up finishes between 1992 and 2006.[7]

Unusually for a star American golfer, Lehman won almost as many regular tour events internationally as he did in the United States. His most well-known victory was at the 1996 Open Championship in England. He also won the 1993 Casio World Open on the Japan Golf Tour and the 1997 Gulfstream Loch Lomond World Invitational on the European Tour. He also recorded runner-up finishes at the 1989 South African Open[8] and the 2000 Scottish Open, the European Tour event he won three years previous.

Lehman was captain of the Ryder Cup team in 2006, which lost 18½ to 9½ to Europe at the K Club in Ireland.

In April 2009, Lehman became the 13th Champions Tour player to win his debut tournament. He teamed with Bernhard Langer to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in a playoff over Jeff Sluman and Craig Stadler.[9] On May 30, 2010, Lehman won the Senior PGA Championship in a playoff over Fred Couples and David Frost for his first Champions Tour major championship. In 2011, Lehman topped the Champions Tour money list and was voted the Champions Tour Player of the Year. He is the first golfer to win "Player of the Year" honors on all three tours operated by the PGA Tour.[2]

Lehman at the 2010 PGA Championship

In June 2012, Lehman defended his title at the Regions Tradition, to win his third senior major championship. He won by two strokes from Germany's Bernhard Langer and Taiwan's Lu Chien-soon. In his next major appearance at the Senior Players Championship, he finished runner-up, two strokes behind Joe Daley.

Personal

Lehman and his wife Melissa have lived for many years in Scottsdale, Arizona, and they have four children: two daughters and two sons. Lehman is a devout Christian.[10][11]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (35)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–3)

European Tour wins (2)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

Ben Hogan Tour wins (4)

*Note: The 1991 Ben Hogan Gulf Coast Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (2–2)

Tour de las Américas wins (1)

1Co-sanctioned by the TPG Tour

Other wins (10)

Other playoff record (0–1)

PGA Tour Champions wins (12)

*Note: The 2018 Principal Charity Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (3–2)

European Senior Tour wins (2)

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Results in The Players Championship

  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2022.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Awards

Lehman has won the following awards:

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 16 1997 Ending 20 Apr 1997" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Lehman named Champions Tour Player of the Year". PGA Tour. December 14, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  3. ^ Orrick, Dave (October 2, 2016). "Tom Lehman on Minnesota's Ryder Cup: 'I'm just proud'". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  4. ^ Murphy, Brian (2017). 100 Things Minnesota Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 9781633198722. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  5. ^ Lehman, Tom (2005). A Passion for the Game. Bronze Bow Publishing. ISBN 978-1-932458-35-0.
  6. ^ "Tom Lehman Life Story". The Life Story Foundation. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  7. ^ "Tom Lehman". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "Tom Lehman − 1989". OWGR. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  9. ^ "Lehman-Langer team wins Legends of Golf in playoff". PGA Tour. Associated Press. April 26, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  10. ^ "America's Republican guard". Irish Times. September 15, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  11. ^ Darden, Robert; Richardson, P. J. (1996). The Way of an Eagle. Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-0785277019.
  12. ^ "2017 Yearbook & Media Guide – MGA Amateur Championship" (PDF). Minnesota Golf Association. pp. 143–148.

External links