Tom Lehman

I began playing golf at age 5 in Alexandria, Minnesota, a small farm town northwest of Minneapolis. He was a walk-on at the University of Minnesota, earning his tour card after college in 1983.
He played on the PGA Tour for three years, returning to Qualifying School after each season. Unable to get back on the PGA Tour for the 1986 season, he played in Asia and South Africa and various mini-tour events he could qualify for in the United States. His game finally started showing more substantial promise in 1990 and 1991, when he was able to play regularly on the Ben Hogan Tour, winning four tournaments, three of them in 1991. That year he was the Hogan-leading money winner with $141,934, thereby securing his PGA Tour card for 1992.
He had nine top-10 finishes in 1992, six more in 1993, and finished third and then second at the Masters before he finally broke through with his first win. He won the 1994 Memorial Tournament with four rounds of 67. His best year was 1996, when he won the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes and the Tour Championship at Southern Hills. He also swept the year-end honors, winning the Vardon Trophy, the money list, and Player of the Year. In April 1997, he was, for one week, the No. 1-ranked player in the world.
He injured his shoulder at the 1998 British Open, requiring surgery in November of that year. Made a triumphant return from the shoulder surgery. Member of 1995, 1997, and 1999 Ryder Cup Teams. Captain of the 2006 Ryder Cup Team and a member of the 1994, 1996, and 2000 Presidents Cup Teams.
A full-time member of the PGA Tour from 1983 to 1985 and between 1992 and 2009, playing 481 events, making 344 cuts, and recording 97 top-10 finishes with five victories and 19 runner-up finishes. Competed in the Korn Ferry Tour in 1990 and 1991 and made 47 career starts, making 39 cuts with 16 top-10 finishes, including four victories.
In 2010, he marked his second victory on the PGA Tour Champions by capturing the Senior PGA Championship at the Colorado Golf Club, defeating David Frost and Fred Couples in a one-hole playoff.
2011 Notes: He was the PGA Tour Champions Player of the Year, making him the first to collect top honors on the PGA Tour Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour (1991) and PGA Tour (1996). He also earned his first Charles Schwab Cup, holding off Mark Calcavecchia by just 74 points at the season's final event. He took the Schwab Cup lead after the season's second event (Allianz Championship) and never relinquished it. He was also the tour's only $2-million man, earning the Arnold Palmer Award with a personal best of $2,081,526. Along with John Cook, he led the PGA Tour Champions with three victories and claimed all three wins within the first seven of his 21 starts last year. The highlight of his year was winning his second career major championship on the PGA Tour Champions and his third title of the season at the Regions Tradition.
2012 Notes: Capped another highly successful campaign by winning the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in his hometown by six strokes over Jay Haas, adding a second consecutive Charles Schwab Cup title to his career record. Became the first player to win successive Charles Schwab Cup titles, as well as being the fifth to win that honor twice, joining Hale Irwin (2002 and 2004), Tom Watson (2003 and 2005), Jay Haas (2006 and 2008) and Loren Roberts (2007 and 2009). Earlier in the year, he won his first tournament in just over a year when he repeated at the Regions Tradition by two shots over Bernhard Langer and Chien Soon Lu. He played in 19 events for the year and had 12 top-10 finishes. He was 2nd on the money list.
2013 Notes: He didn't win for the first time as a member of the PGA Tour Champions, but he was still among the top 10 in nine of his 17 appearances. His best effort of the season was in late April when he closed with a bogey-free 67 that included birdies on three of his last four holes to finish T-2nd at the inaugural Greater Gwinnett Championship, three strokes behind Bernhard Langer. Finished the year 20th on the money list.
2014 Notes: Scattered seven top-10 finishes over his 20 starts, the highlight of his year coming midway through the season when he claimed his first PGA Tour Champions victory in almost 18 months, holing a 12-foot birdie putt to win the Encompass Championship. He had a chance to pick up a second victory late in the season when he played in the final group at the SAS Championship. He got within two strokes of eventual-winner Triplett before finishing solo second, three shots back. He ended the year 12th on the money list and 15th in the Schwab Rankings.
2015 Notes: Finished his final round at the SAS Championship birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie for a two-shot win over Joe Durant and Bernhard Langer. He was T-2nd, along with Kevin Sutherland, at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, one shot back of David Frost. He again finished T-2nd at the Insperity Invitational, losing in a playoff to Ian Woosnam, overtime that included Kenny Perry. Also was T-5th at the Regions Tradition and at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf along with teammate Jeff Sluman. He was 7th on the money list and 11th in the Schwab rankings.
2016 Notes: In the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, finished 2nd, a shot back of Duffy Waldorf, who birdied three of the final six holes (including a birdie at 18). He finished 5th in his next start at the Allianz Championship. Back-to-back weekend rounds of 67 were instrumental in his T-4th effort at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in April. One week later was T-8th with Bernhard Langer at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. I was T-6th at the Principal Charity Classic. That would be his fifth and last top-10 of the season. He played a full year of 20 events finishing 28th on the money list and 36th in the Schwab Ranking. But he tailed off in the second half, and after withdrawing from the PowerShares QQQ and not starting at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, it was revealed he suffered an elbow injury. He tried unsuccessfully to gut it out and underwent surgery in November to repair a detached tendon in his left elbow.
2017 Notes: He couldn't play in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai but started his comeback from surgery at the Chubb Classic, finishing T-57th. His next start a month later at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic earned him his 10th Champions Tour victory by a shot over Steve Stricker. He added another top-10 with a T-8th finish at April's Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf with teammate Loren Roberts, then a T-6th at the Regions Tradition, a T-5th at the Principal Charity Classic, and a T-4th at the U.S. Senior Open, which would be his last top-10 of the year. He played in 20 events and was 18th on the money list and 24th in Schwab Rank.
2018 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour Champions events with nine top-10 finishes. To start his year, he was T-9th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. With partner Bernhard Langer, they lost on the first playoff hole and finished 2nd at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. I was T-5th at the Insperity Invitational. Won in the rain-shortened Principal Charity Classic, was 2 shots better than Woody Austin, Glen Day, Bernhard Langer, and Scott Parel. He was T-6th at the Senior Open Championship, just 3 shots back of winner Miguel Angel Jimenez. T-3rd at the Ally Challenge, 3 shots back of winner Paul Broadhurst. He was 4th at the SAS Championship. He advanced to his 9th straight Charles Schwab Cup Championship and finished 19th in the final standings.
2019 Notes: Played in 19 PGA Tour Champions events with five top-ten finishes. He was 23rd on the Schwab rankings. He opened the 2019 season with a victory at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai after carding rounds of 69-65-65=199. Was T-6th at the Chubb Classic and 6th at the Insperity Invitational, and T-11th at the U.S. Senior Open. He was T-7th at the Ally Challenge and T-5th at the Pure Insurance Championship, three shots back of the Triplett/Andrade playoff. He finished the year T-25th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 31 PGA Tour Champions events with three top-ten finishes. He was 51st on the Schwab rankings. Was T-9th at the Chubb Classic, T-7th at the Ally Challenge, and T-10th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. In 2021 his best finish was T-11th in the Principal Charity Classic.
2022 Notes: Played in ten PGA Tour Champions events, was 83rd in the Schwab rankings, and 83rd on the money list with earnings of $102,425. Best finish T-21st at the Hoag Classic.
2023 Notes: Best finish, T-32nd at The Galleri Classic.