NISSAN NOTEBOOK: BOTH HATS FIT NICELY FOR VETERAN LEHMAN.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer Tom Lehman Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. Lehman was born in Austin, Minnesota but Alexandria, Minnesota is credited as his official Minnesota hometown. might be best known these days for his role as Ryder Cup Ryder Cup Biennial team golf event first held in 1927. It was originally played between teams of golfers from the U.S. and Britain; since 1979 players opposing the U.S. have been chosen from all of Europe. The trophy was donated by the British seed merchant Samuel Ryder. captain. He'll be making the captain's picks of the final two players for the 12- man U.S. team following the PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the U.S. PGA Championship outside of North America) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America as part of the PGA Tour. in August. Then, he'll choosing who plays when in the Sept. 22-24 competition at the K Club in County Kildare County Kildare (Irish: Contae Chill Dara) is an Irish county located to the southwest of Dublin in the province of Leinster. The name comes from the Irish, meaning church (Cill) of the oaks (Dara). , Ireland, where the Americans face a host team bidding to extend a European resurgence that has produced a 6-3-1 record in the past 10 renewals of the 79-year rivalry. However, Lehman, in the field for this week's Nissan Open The Northern Trust Open, formally known as the Nissan Open and originally known as the Los Angeles Open, is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in February in Pacific Palisades, California. at Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a country club with a championship golf course. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The country club opened in 1926, with George C. Thomas, Jr. as the course architect. , is more than a captain in waiting and watching. He's also a legitimate contender for one of those two captain's picks, given the the value of experience in the bi-annual Ryder Cup competition and his recent play. Lehman, the 46-year-old former assistant pro at Wood Ranch of Simi Valley who won the British Open, the Tour Championship and PGA Tour Player of the year honors in 1996, still has plenty of game. He challenged eventual winner Tiger Woods for last year's Buick Invitational title until the closing holes of regulation on a Torrey Pines South course being toughened up for the 2008 U.S. Open. Then he came within a stroke of a playoff in a second-place finish at the Players Championship on another notoriously tough course - TPC at Sawgrass The TPC at Sawgrass is a well-known golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and was the inaugural Tournament Players Club. Sawgrass has two courses, the Stadium Course and the Valley Course, and is also home to the PGA Tour's headquarters. in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He had a round of 66 en route to a 16th place finish at this year's Buick Invitational and shot 65 Friday at Pebble Beach, where he finished tied for seventh in the AT&T National Pro-Pro, entering that tournament ranked 22nd in the U.S. Ryder Cup point standings. Lehman, who wants to make the team on points, might be reluctant to choose himself, but there's no denying the fire he still has for winning - four years shy of eligibility for the senior tour. --Riviera fan: Charles Howell III Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American golfer. Howell was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, the home town of the Masters Tournament. He was a member of Augusta Country Club, which is adjacent to Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club. , who nearly won the second Nissan Open he played as a 23-year-old member of the tour's highly touted collection of upcoming `Young Guns' in 2003, returns this week to a course he likes as much as any he plays on tour. ``It's one of my favorite courses all year,'' said Howell, who lost the '03 Nissan in a playoff with Mike Weir and shot a nine-hole record 7-under- par 28 at Riviera in 2002 to tie the course nine-hole record during a round of 64. ``I love the golf course. I like the history of it and I've managed to play well around there,'' said Howell, who has had two top-10 finishes at Riviera in addition to the playoff loss. CAPTION(S): box Box: ON THE TEE |
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