The Loop

Lehman ready to join his contemporaries

April 22, 2009

Tom Lehman hasn't won on the PGA Tour since the 2000 Phoenix Open, and he knows it won't be easy on the Champions Tour, despite the ribbing he is getting from fellow seniors. "[I'm hearing], 'We're just a bunch of old guys who can't play, take it easy on us.' I know better," said Lehman, who makes his Champions Tour debut this week in Savannah, Ga., at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, where he is teaming with Charles Schwab Cup points leader Bernhard Langer. "That's like being set up on the first tee [by somebody who says] 'Give me two and two [shots a side] and then the guy shoots 66. It's very enjoyable to hear the song and dance. These guys are having fun, but they're still really competitive and can really play."

Lehman, who turned 50 on March 7, will divide his time between the PGA and Champions tours the rest of 2009 and by year's end will have played about 10 tournaments on the Champions Tour and 15 on the PGA Tour. In 2010, he said the majority of his appearances will be on the senior circuit. "It's nice to play well, but it's even nicer to win," said Lehman, the 1996 British Open winner who finished T-8 at the PGA Tour's Transitions Championship last month. "Being a champion is important to me. I'd rather win out here [Champions Tour] than contend out there [PGA Tour].

-- *Bill Fields *