In Lehman’s Terms, a Dream Year

Three years ago Tom Lehman was a virtually unknown and had never won a PGA event. With his runaway victory at the Tour Championship on Monday, Lehman staked his claim to player-of-the-year honors.

Lehman finished a dominating performance at Southern Hills Country Club and a sensational year with a 71 in the rain-delayed final round for a 12-under-par 268, six strokes ahead of Brad Faxon and seven better than Steve Stricker.

The victory gave Lehman, 37, the money title, the best scoring average and the PGA of America player-of-the-year award.

“It turned out to be a dream year,” Lehman said. “I really didn’t think about winning the money title until this week. I played great and everything just fell together.”

Lehman is now a strong contender for the PGA Tour player-of-the-year award, which is determined in a vote by players.

The $540,000 first-place check gave Lehman $1,780,159, breaking the record $1,654,959 won by Greg Norman last year and edging Phil Mickelson by $82,360 as leading money winner.

Lehman’s 268 was a stroke better than Nick Price’s winning score in the 1994 PGA Championship at Southern Hills when he won by six strokes over Corey Pavin.

He also won the Vardon Trophy by averaging 69.32 over 79 rounds.

Lehman becomes the 10th golfer to win both the PGA of America player of the year and the Vardon Trophy, the last being Nick Price in 1993.

Tiger Woods, whose one bad round was a second-round 78 on the day his father was hospitalized with chest pains, finished with a 68 and tied for 21st at 288.

The $55,800 check gave Woods $790,594 for the year in only eight events. The rookie earnings record of $881,436 was set by David Duval last year in 26 tournaments.

Mickelson, with four victories, and Mark Brooks, with three, including the PGA Championship, were considered the front-runners in the player voting for the PGA Tour player-of-the-year award.

But Mickelson finished 12th at 283 and Brooks was tied for 27th at 295 as Lehman shot past them to top the money list.

Lehman, 37, broke into the PGA Tour in 1983 but in three years won less than $40,000. The next six years he scratched out a living on tours in Asia and South Africa as well as on minor American tours.

He returned to the PGA Tour in 1992 and won his first tournament at the Memorial in 1994. Since then he has been a constant contender.

Lehman finished 1996 with two victories, including the British Open, and 13 top-10 finishes, including a second at the U.S. Open. He finished out of the top 20 only three times in 22 events.

“In all honesty, I don’t think I give myself enough credit,” Lehman said.