Tom Lehman wins the Charles Schwab Cup race for the second time in a row
Entering the Champions Tour’s season finale, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Tom Lehman knew only one thing, a victory at the Desert Mountain Club.
It was essential for the American to take home his second Charles Schwab Cup title in a row. At the end of the week, he successfully achieved his target.
He won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and became the only player in the history of the Champions Tour to win the points table in two straight years.
Starting off his final round campaign, Lehman had a one-stroke lead over Fred Couples. Through 13 holes, on day four, he was one-under for the round and was two strokes ahead of Jay Haas.
He then birdied four of the last five holes to record a six-stroke victory, his seventh on the 50-and-over tour.
"It was a great week from start to finish," Lehman said. "Absolutely, I played some of my best golf of the year. I'm very, very fortunate and thankful to be able to kind of bring my best when I needed it”.
The 53-year-old registered a 22-under par 258 and set the record for the lowest score ever in a par-72 event. Previously, the record was held by Jack Nicklaus, who posted a 261 at the 1990 Mazda Senior TPC.
At the end of the week, he pocketed a total of US$440,000 prize money and received a US$1 million annuity for winning the Charles Schwab Cup.
Talking to the Champions Tour’s official website, he stated that he will use a part of the annuity to set up a junior foundation, in order to honour his former swing coach, Jim Flick.
"I don't know exactly what it's going to look like," Lehman said. "It probably will involve a tournament, a junior tournament. ... If there is money needed to get it going, I'm sure this is where it will come from”.
Bernhard Langer, who started off his week with a 211-point lead in the Charles Schwab Cup, finished sixth in the tournament and slipped to the second place in the standings.
"Tom Lehman had a fantastic year and a very good week," said Langer, who earned a $500,000 annuity. "He deserves to win".
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