Lehman Does It Right Champion’s Resume Filled With Generosity

Only when you examine how far Tom Lehman has come can you appreciate how much his victory in the British Open means, both to him and to the sport of golf. The case can be made that this baldish, good-natured, 37-year-old man from Minnesota is, right at this moment, the best golfer in America.

Such a notion would have been preposterous until recently. Surely, there are better swings, better putting strokes and more impressive golf pedigrees. Say the phrase “best player in America” and the litany of names that comes to mind usually is Corey Pavin, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love 3rd, Mark O’Meara. All are ranked higher in the Sony World Rankings and all certainly have more career victories than Lehman’s three.

Why, Mickelson has won twice this year alone. So has O’Meara. Couples has a first and a second, as does Love, and Pavin has won twice in the last 13 months, including the U.S. Open.

But if it is a given that the true gauge of a golfer’s grit is his performance in the major championships, then it is Lehman who emerges as America’s No. 1 player. The record shows it. He is the American most likely to stand up to the profound pressure in the majors.

This season, Lehman has tied for 18th at the Masters, finished second at the U.S. Open and won the British Open. Last year he finished second at the U.S. Open, and he was second in the Masters in ‘94. Some chose to interpret those finishes as indicative of his inability to close the deal, but this victory at Royal Lytham & St. Annes on Sunday alters that.

No American player has as many top-2 major performances over that span. Pavin comes closest, with a third at the ‘92 Masters, a tie for fourth at the ‘94 British Open, second at the ‘94 PGA Championship and first at the ‘95 U.S. Open. The fact is, if Lehman’s tee shot had not kicked into the bunker at the 72nd hole of the Open at Oakland Hills, he would have been in a playoff with Steve Jones for the title with a chance to become the first player to win two majors in a season since 1994.

“There isn’t any doubt, when you look at what he’s done, it’s a very impressive record in the last few years,” said Tom Kite, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain and all-time leading money winner in golf. “This was a big victory for Tom, hanging in there against (Nick) Faldo and pulling it out like that. He made some key putts down the stretch, like the up and down from the bunker at 16.”

And then he raised the silver claret jug above his head. Intoxicating stuff for a guy who was on the mini-tour circuit as recently as 1991, driving cross-country in a Honda with more than 150,000 miles on it, his bank account down to $1,000 and his confidence level lower than that.

He and his wife, Melissa, bounced back and forth between the Asian Tour and the U.S. mini-tours, carrying their children (they have three) and faith with them. Lehman never gave up, though the thought occasionally crossed his mind.

Once in 1990 it was so bad Lehman actually showered in the rain outside a Holiday Inn in Gallup, N.M., soaping up and standing in a downpour in the parking lot rather than shelling out the $40 for a room.

“I look at that now and think of it as a good period, a good time,” Lehman said. “When I was on the minis, you had to win to survive. That taught me a lot about golf and myself.”

The people who know him say Lehman not only is in the running as the best player on the PGA Tour, he is one of its best people. One caddie told of a time he was in desperate financial straits and was in danger of losing his home, and his wife, because of the stress. He did not caddie for Lehman, but they were acquainted through the Tour Bible study group. Lehman fronted the man the money for a new home, no questions asked.

Lehman was uncomfortable when asked about it, and said only that the caddie “would have done the same thing if the situations were reversed.”

Lehman’s entire life situation has been reversed. He has gone from obscurity to fame, from the brink of bankruptcy to more than $4 million in earnings the last 4-1/2 years. Now he’s won his first major. Others are on the horizon.

He’s the latest golfer to prove the fallacy of Leo Durocher’s claim that nice guys finish last. In Lehman’s case, he’s in the last group to finish.