Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional 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.
Amateur career
Born in Austin, Minnesota, and raised in Alexandria, Lehman played college golf at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolisâ€"Saint Paul, graduated with a degree in business/accounting, and turned professional in 1982.
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. In April 1997 he spent a week at Number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. 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.
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. 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.
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 Christian.
Professional wins (35)
PGA Tour wins (5)
PGA Tour playoff record (0â€"3)
European Tour wins (2)
Ben Hogan Tour wins (4)
- 1990 Ben Hogan Reflection Ridge
- 1991 Ben Hogan Gulf Coast Classic, Ben Hogan South Carolina Classic, Ben Hogan Santa Rosa Open
Japan Golf Tour wins (1)
- 1993 Casio World Open
Other wins (11)
- 1986 Waterloo Open Golf Classic
- 1989 Minnesota State Open
- 1990 Minnesota State Open
- 1995 Diners Club Matches (with Duffy Waldorf)
- 1996 Diners Club Matches (with Duffy Waldorf), PGA Grand Slam of Golf
- 1997 Skins Game,
- 1998 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational
- 2000 Williams World Challenge* (January)
- 2000 Hyundai Team Matches (with Duffy Waldorf)
- 2009 Argentine Masters
* This event was staged twice in 2000 once in January and the other in December.
PGA Tour Champions wins (10)
A This win also counts as a European Senior Tour victory because it is a co-sanctioned event.
Champions Tour playoff record (3â€"1)
European Senior Tour wins (2)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made â€" 8 (1996 Masters â€" 1997 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s â€" 2 (1996 U.S. Open â€" 1996 Open Championship)
Results in World Golf Championship events
1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew from tournament
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Yellow background for top-10.
Senior major championships
Wins (3)
1Defeated Couples (6) and Frost (6), who shot 2-over par double bogey on the first sudden-death-playoff hole, and Lehman shot a (4) on the hole, which was even-par.
2Defeated Senior with a par on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Results timeline
Results are not in chronological order before 2017.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Awards
Lehman has won the following awards:
- 1991
- Ben Hogan Tour leading money winner
- Ben Hogan Tour Player of the Year
- 1996
- PGA Player of the Year
- PGA Tour Player of the Year
- Vardon Trophy
- Byron Nelson Award
- PGA Tour leading money winner
- 2010
- Payne Stewart Award
- 2011
- Arnold Palmer Award (Champions Tour leading money winner)
- Jack Nicklaus Trophy (Champions Tour Player of the Year)
- Charles Schwab Cup (Champions Tour)
- 2012
- Jack Nicklaus Trophy (Champions Tour Player of the Year)
- Charles Schwab Cup (Champions Tour)
U.S. national team appearances
- Ryder Cup: 1995, 1997, 1999 (winners), 2006 (non-playing captain)
- Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 2000 (winners)
- World Cup: 1996
- Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1999, 2000
- UBS Warburg Cup: 2002 (winners)
- Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1997 (winners), 1999, 2012 (ChampionsTour)
See also
- 1991 Ben Hogan Tour graduates
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins
- List of golfers with most Web.com Tour wins
References
External links
- Tom Lehman at the PGA Tour official site
- Tom Lehman at the European Tour official site
- Tom Lehman at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Tom Lehman at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Article from thesandtrap.com
