Tom Lehman


Thomas Edward Lehman 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.

Amateur career

Born in Austin, Minnesota, and raised in Alexandria, Lehman played college golf at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis–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 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.
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 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. 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)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1May 22, 1994Memorial Tournament67-67-67-67=268−205 strokes Greg Norman
2May 28, 1995Colonial National Invitation67-68-68-68=271−91 stroke Craig Parry
3Jul 21, 1996The Open Championship67-67-64-73=271−132 strokes Ernie Els, Mark McCumber
4Oct 28, 1996The Tour Championship66-67-64-71=268−126 strokes Brad Faxon
5Jan 30, 2000Phoenix Open63-67-73-67=270−141 stroke Robert Allenby, Rocco Mediate

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11997Mercedes Championships Tiger WoodsLost to birdie on first extra hole
21999Bay Hill Invitational Tim HerronLost to birdie on second extra hole
32006The International Dean WilsonLost to birdie on second extra hole

European Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Jul 21, 1996The Open Championship67-67-64-73=271−132 strokes Ernie Els, Mark McCumber
2Jul 12, 1997Gulfstream Loch Lomond World Invitational65-66-67-67=265−194 strokes Ernie Els

Japan Golf 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
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11991Ben Hogan Gulf Coast Classic Tim Straub, John WilsonWon with par on eighth extra hole
Straub eliminated with par on first hole
21991Ben Hogan South Carolina Classic Ray PearceWon with birdie on first extra hole
31991Ben Hogan Tulsa Open Frank ConnerLost to birdie on second extra hole
41991Ben Hogan Reno Open Rob Boldt, John Flannery,
Esteban Toledo		Flannery won with birdie on fourth extra hole
Boldt and Lehman eliminated with birdie on first hole

Other wins (11)

* This event was staged twice in 2000 once in January and the other in December.

PGA Tour Champions wins (12)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Apr 26, 2009Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
61-66-62=189−27Playoff Jeff Sluman and Craig Stadler
2May 30, 2010Senior PGA Championship68-71-71-71=281−7Playoff Fred Couples, David Frost
3Feb 13, 2011Allianz Championship65-69-69=203−131 stroke Jeff Sluman, Rod Spittle
4Apr 3, 2011Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic67-64-69=200−161 stroke David Frost, Nick Price,
Jeff Sluman
5May 8, 2011Regions Tradition67-71-68-69=275−13Playoff Peter Senior
6Jun 10, 2012Regions Tradition 69-69-68-68=274−142 strokes Bernhard Langer, Lu Chien-soon
7Nov 4, 2012Charles Schwab Cup Championship68-63-62-65=258−226 strokes Jay Haas
8Jun 22, 2014Encompass Championship65-66-70=201−151 stroke Michael Allen, Kirk Triplett
9Oct 11, 2015SAS Championship68-71-65=204−121 stroke Joe Durant
10Mar 19, 2017Tucson Conquistadores Classic66-67-66=199−201 stroke Steve Stricker
11Jun 10, 2018Principal Charity Classic66-65=131−132 strokes Woody Austin, Glen Day
Bernhard Langer, Scott Parel
12Jan 19, 2019Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai69-65-65=199−171 stroke David Toms

PGA Tour Champions playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12009Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
 Jeff Sluman and Craig StadlerWon with par on second extra hole
22010Senior PGA Championship Fred Couples, David FrostWon with par on first extra hole
32011Regions Tradition Peter SeniorWon with par on second extra hole
42015Insperity Invitational Kenny Perry, Ian WoosnamWoosnam won with birdie on first extra hole
52018Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf
 Paul Broadhurst and Kirk TriplettLost to birdie on first extra hole

European Senior Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1May 30, 2010Senior PGA Championship68-71-71-71=281−7Playoff Fred Couples, David Frost
2Dec 11, 2011MCB Tour Championship65-68-71=204−121 stroke David Frost

European Senior Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12010Senior PGA Championship Fred Couples, David FrostWon with par on first extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

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

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (3)

1Defeated Couples and Frost, who shot 2-over par double bogey on the first sudden-death-playoff hole, and Lehman shot a 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.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Awards

Lehman has won the following awards: