Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. A former #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 Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

s: the regular

, the developmental

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

, and the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

Amateur career

Born in

Austin, Minnesota Austin is a city in and the county seat of Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River and has ...

, and raised in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Lehman played college golf at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

, 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

with little success from

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, 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 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

until shortly after he joined the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

. He was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. 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 The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. In April 1997, he was Number 1 in the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...

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 The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

and

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament (branded as the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, Inc., Workday for sponsorship reasons, and also referred to as simply the Memorial) is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on ...

, 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. 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 The Japan Golf Tour () is a prominent professional golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006, it offered the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after the PGA Tour and the ...

and the 1997 Gulfstream Loch Lomond World Invitational on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

. He also recorded runner-up finishes at the 1989 South African Open and the 2000 Scottish Open, the European Tour event he won three years previous. Lehman was captain of the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

team in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, which lost 18½ to 9½ to Europe at the

K Club The Kildare Hotel and Golf Club (abbreviated The K Club) is a golf and leisure complex located in Straffan, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is built on the original grounds of the Straffan estate, incorporating the 1830s Straff ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In April 2009, Lehman became the 13th

player to win his debut tournament. He teamed with

Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first number one ranked playe ...

to win the

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. From 2014 to 2019, it was played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the ...

in a playoff over

Jeff Sluman Jeffrey George Sluman (born September 11, 1957) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous professional golf tournaments including six PGA Tour victories. Early life and amateur career Sluman was born and reared in Rochester, New Yo ...

and

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bo ...

. On May 30, 2010, Lehman won the Senior PGA Championship in a playoff over

Fred Couples Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament ...

and

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

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. Tom Lehman at 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

and Taiwan's Lu Chien-soon. In his next major appearance at the

Senior Players Championship The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard f ...

, he finished runner-up, two strokes behind Joe Daley.

Personal life

Lehman and his wife Melissa have lived for many years in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, and they have four children: two daughters and two sons. Lehman is a devout Christian.

Amateur wins

*1981 Minnesota State Amateur

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

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

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1996 Masters – 1997 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1996 U.S. Open – 1996 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

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.'' CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Awards

Lehman has won the following awards: *1991 ** Ben Hogan Tour money list winner ** Ben Hogan Tour Player of the Year *1996 **

PGA Player of the Year The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions ...

** PGA Tour Player of the Year ** Vardon Trophy ** Byron Nelson Award ** PGA Tour money list winner *2010 ** Payne Stewart Award *2011 ** Champions Tour money list winner ** Champions Tour Player of the Year ** Charles Schwab Cup *2012 ** Champions Tour Player of the Year ** Charles Schwab Cup

U.S. national team appearances

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

(winners),

(non-playing captain) *

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

(winners),

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

(winners) *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

Alfred Dunhill Cup The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championsh ...

* UBS Warburg Cup: 2002 (winners) * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1997 (winners), 1999, 2012 (ChampionsTour)

References

External links

* * * *
Article from thesandtrap.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehman, Tom American male golfers Minnesota Golden Gophers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Minnesota Golfers from Scottsdale, Arizona Sportspeople from Austin, Minnesota People from Alexandria, Minnesota American Christians 1959 births Living people Presidents Cup competitors for the United States 20th-century American sportsmen

Amateur career

Professional career

Personal life

Amateur wins

Professional wins (35)

PGA Tour wins (5)

European Tour wins (2)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

Ben Hogan Tour wins (4)

Tour de las Américas wins (1)

Other wins (10)

PGA Tour Champions wins (12)

European Senior Tour wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Summary

Results in The Players Championship

Results in World Golf Championships

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

Results timeline

Awards

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

External links