Tom Lehman

Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. Lehman was born in Austin, Minnesota but Alexandria, Minnesota is credited as his official Minnesota hometown. He attended the University of Minnesota, graduating with a degree in Business/Accounting and turned professional in 1982. It took him 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 has enjoyed unbroken membership of the PGA Tour since 1992. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1996.

The highlight of Lehman's career is his victory in the 1996 Open Championship. Given that he once spent a week at Number 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and his high ranking on the PGA Tour career money list it is perhaps surprising that he has only won five times on the PGA Tour, but in addition to his Open win these wins have included the prestigious Tour Championship and Memorial Tournament, and he has won at least nineteen professional events in total.

Lehman was captain of the defeated United States 2006 Ryder Cup team.

Another defining characteristic of Lehman's career is the fact that for three years in a row (1995-97) he held the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open, but each time failed to win.

Professional wins (22)

PGA Tour wins (5)

*1994 (1) Memorial Tournament
*1995 (1) Colonial National Invitation
*1996 (2) British Open, The Tour Championship
*2000 (1) Phoenix Open

Major championship is shown in bold.

Nationwide Tour wins (4)

*1990 Ben Hogan Reflection Ridge
*1991 Ben Hogan Gulf Coast Classic, Ben Hogan South Carolina Classic, Ben Hogan Santa Rosa Open

European Tour wins (1)

*1997 Loch Lomond World Invitational

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 Hyundai Team Matches (with Duffy Waldorf)
*1996 Hyundai Team Matches (with Duffy Waldorf), PGA Grand Slam of Golf, Skins Game
*1997 Skins Game, Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson)
*1999 Williams World Challenge (United States - unofficial event)
*2000 Hyundai Team Matches (with Duffy Waldorf)

Major Championships

Wins (1)

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

United States national team appearances

*Ryder Cup: 1995, 1997, 1999 (winners)
*Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 2000 (winners)
*World Cup: 1996

ee also

*Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/00/16/77 Profile on the PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.tomlehmanstory.com/ Tom Lehman's Audio Life Story & Transcript]