ROUNDUP : LEHMAN NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Tom Lehman, the former Wood Ranch teaching pro who struggled for years in golf's minor leagues, has been voted Player of the Year by PGA Tour members after winning the 1996 British Open and Tour Championship and setting a single-season earnings record of $1,780,150.

Tiger Woods was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Jim Colbert was named Senior PGA Tour Player of the Year and Stewart Cink was voted best on the Nike Tour.

Results of the voting were announced Friday night during the annual PGA Tour awards dinner at the La Costa Resort and Spa, site of the season-opening Mercedes Championships.

Lehman, 37, faced stiff competition from Phil Mickelson, a four-time winner in 1996, and Mark Brooks, whose three 1996 wins included the PGA Championship.

Colbert, who led the '96 Senior tour in earnings, had to edge out Hale Irwin as the best player in that over-50 competition. Irwin received the Byron Nelson Award for the lowest stroke average on the Senior tour while Lehman won the Nelson award on the regular tour.

In other awards, John Bland was voted Senior Rookie of the Year, U.S. Open winner Steve Jones was named Comeback Player of the Year on the PGA Tour and Al Geiberger the comeback player on the Senior tour.

Still going strong: Check the calendar, it seems a huge mistake has been made. The 1997 PGA Tour didn't start this week with the Mercedes Championships. Last year simply went into extra innings.

Tom Lehman is leading - once again. And Tiger Woods is challenging - once again. Isn't this where we left off?

Maybe we should just get used to it. Two guys who got to the top of the golf game following widely different routes look like they plan to stay there a while.

Lehman and Woods both shot 67s in Friday's second round - the lowest score of the day. That put Lehman at 11-under-par 133, two strokes ahead of Jim Furyk halfway though the tournament.

Woods was four strokes back at 137, tied with Davis Love III and Guy Boros.

``I needed to shoot something around 66 to get back in the tournament and I shot a 67,'' said Woods, who won two of his first seven events after turning pro late last year.

Lehman, who finished 1996 by leading after every round of the Tour Championship, now has played his last six rounds on the PGA Tour 23-under-par and has been the leader after all six rounds.

Webb holds lead: Annika Sorenstam, the two-time defending U.S. Open champion, and Barb Mucha shot 66s to pull within one stroke of Karrie Webb midway through the season opening LPGA Tournament of Champions at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Webb, the first round leader by three strokes, added a 68 on Friday for a two-day total of 137. After a near-flawless opening round, she faltered briefly with a triple bogey on the second hole of the Weston Hills Country Club course.

Unlike Thursday, when Webb was the only golfer below par on a warm windy day, seven golfers were under par when the wind calmed and the temperature dipped. It was in the mid-80s on Thursday, the mid-60s on Friday.

The top three were three strokes clear of the rest of the field. Barb Whitehead shot 69 and was at 141, a stroke better than Rosie Jones, who also shot 69.

Webb managed eight birdies, none more important than a 45-footer on No. 17.