YEAR BELONGS TO LEHMAN AND WOODS.

Byline: Dave Shelburne

The year that was. . .

Tiger Woods made 1996 undeniably special. But so did several area golfers, notably former Wood Ranch teaching pro Tom Lehman - the long-grinding journeyman who just might wind up being voted PGA Tour Player of the Year by his peers.

Lehman will face stiff competition from four-time '96 winner Phil Mickelson, the former Arizona State star whose Phoenix Open victory in January was witnessed by an overflow gallery of nearly 150,000 - many of whom chose to root for a hometown hero while waiting for Super Bowl XXX to kick off the following day.

But despite Mickelson's precociousness (at age 26, he already has won nine PGA events), no one played better more consistently in the toughest '96 competitions than 37-year-old Lehman.

Second by a stroke in the U.S. Open and first in both the British Open and season-ending Tour Championship, Lehman stepped it up like no one else this year when the prize was either the most money available or the most prestige.

His 268 tied a 9-year-old tournament record in the $3 million Tour Championship and his British Open victory at Royal Lytham produced the first victory by an American on that turf since Bobby Jones in 1926. In the process, Lehman set the standard for grinders everywhere, hitting the peak of his game after years of paying his dues on the American mini-tours and on the tours of two other continents. . . .

While Lehman took the long road to success, 20-year-old Woods took both the difficult route and the expressway.

His record third straight U.S. Amateur title in August was testament to his talent and tenacity. Down five holes with 18 to play, he evened the match with an improbable 40-foot, double-breaking birdie putt over two ridges on No. 17 and won on the second playoff hole at Oregon's Pumpkin Ridge.

Turning pro the next week, he then won two of his first seven tournaments - another unprecedented achievement - while drawing huge galleries wherever he played. Immensely gifted in all aspects of the game, especially course management, he finished his abbreviated rookie season with a driving average more than 10 yards better than the tour record and a scoring average that ranked among the '96 tour's top five.

Neither statistic counted in official year-end standings, since Woods didn't play enough events. But this Tiger could be a bear to catch next season, which starts with the Jan. 9-12 Mercedes Championships at La Costa Resort. Even if he doesn't win that, the prediction here is he'll win enough others to earn Player of the Year honors in his first full season. . . .

As for other area success stories of '96, include Van Nuys resident Tim Hogarth among the best of the bunch. Hogarth, a former Alemany High School and Cal State Northridge golfer, won the 71st U.S. Public Links championship in Hawaii in July, shaking off a first-round 78 that left him so discouraged he checked out times for early flight departures.

A second-round 70 helped him survive the medal-play round, and Hogarth never slowed again. He won his match-play rounds 3-and-1, then 3-and-2, 6-and-5, 1-up and 1-up to reach the 36-hole final, where he defeated 1993 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Jeff Thomas 8-and-7.

Hogarth's nine-round competition, during which he defeated both 1995 finalists, also produced an afterglow that will last until April: The win qualified him for the '97 Masters. . . .

Add Westlake High School to any list of 1996 area bests. Coach Dave Costley's deep and talented Marmonte League-champion Warriors produced six rounds in the 70s to win the Southern California prep team title at SCGA Members Club in June.

Alex Kuyumjian led the win with a 2-under-par 70, while Matt McCrite shot 73, J.T. Kohut 74, Ross Fulgentis 75, Andy Sirivicha 77 and Linda Ishii 79 as Westlake totaled 369 to edge runner-up Santa Margarita (370). Ishii then went out again in the afternoon and shot 73 to take second place in the individual girls' competition. . . .

Still going strong: When Helen Knight won this year's El Caballero Country Club women's championship, it marked her 34th title there. She had won 32 in a row before that streak ended in 1990. . . .

Seventysomething Ray Catan admits his eyesight is not what it used to be, but that didn't slow him down Monday. Playing the final two holes in near darkness at tight and hilly Scholl Canyon executive course, the former La Canada Country Club teaching pro saved par out of a sand trap on No. 17, then birdied No. 18 to finish 1-over-par 61 - nearly birdying his age by a full round. . . .

Griffith Park celebrated its 100th year of golf with a Monday morning of free play last week, courtesy of longtime Griffith Park Men's Club fixture Marty Tregnan, president emeritus of the Los Angeles Municipal Golf Association. The perpetually upbeat Tregnan limited his participation to enthusiastic introductions beforehand. Afterward, he accepted enthusiastic praise for the exceptional condition of the Wilson greens.