Lehman Qualifies for U.S. Open; Constable Just Misses

Tom Lehman, the former University of Minnesota All-American who should have won at least two U.S. Opens during the 1990s (not to mention at least one Masters), earned a place in this year's U.S. Open by shooting 69-66--135 in sectional qualifying on Monday.

He tied for fourth in the qualifier at Columbus, Ohio, where Eric Axley was the medalist -- by seven strokes -- with a blistering 127, 17 under par. Axley, a Nationwide Tour regular, shot 64 at the Lakes G&CC and 63 at Brookside G&CC.

Australians Stuart Appleby and Terry Pikadaris tied for second at 134.

Then came Lehman in a group of six players who tied at 135. Also in the group was Ben Curtis, who like Lehman, is a former British Open champion.

In all, 15 players advanced from Columbus.

Among those who didn't were Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Rocco Mediate. Rose (68-72--140, T31) and Fowler (70-73--144) finished 1-2 in the Memorial Classic on Sunday.

Mediate nearly won the Open two years ago at Torrey Pines in San Diego, losing a 19-hole playoff to Tiger Woods. On Monday, Mediate was part of a six-way tie for 11th place. That put him in a 6-for-5 playoff for, and he was eliminated when he bogeyed the third extra hole.

As for Lehman, by qualifying he earns a place in the 2010 field at Pebble Beach, which was where he essentially announced himself as a contender for major championships by tying for sixth in the 1992 U.S. Open.

The Open will begin next Thursday (June 17).

Lehman graduated from Minnesota in 1982 and made it through the PGA Tour's qualifying process (Q-School) that fall. But he didn't make enough money in '83 to keep his tour playing privileges; so he had to go back to Q-School again.

He made it through Q-School in '83 and '84, but failed two more times to earn enough to finish in the top 125 on the money list and retain his PGA Tour status. After kicking around on the mini-tour circuit without all that much success for a half-decade, he started winning smaller tournaments, such as the Minnesota State Open (1989 and '90) and the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am ('90).

After turning down the job of coach for the Minnesota men's golf team, mainly because it also would have required him to rent cross country ski equipment at Bolstad/Universtiy Golf Course during the winters, Lehman in 1991 became the No. 1 money-winner on the Hogan Tour, which eventually became the Nationwide. 

That got him onto the PGA Tour once again, and he's been there ever since.

He posted his first top-5 finish in a major at the 1993 Masters, and outplayed Jose Maria Olazabal from tee to green on the final day of the '94 Masters. Unfortunately,  Lehman couldn't match Olazabal's short-game magic -- and luck (Olazabal's second shot at the par-5 15th should have ended up in the water, but it hung up on the bank and he went on to make an eagle 3) -- and had to settle for second place.

In 1995, Lehman took the lead into the final round of the U.S. Open for the first time. He also held 54-hole leads in each of the next two years, and played in the final group a record four years in a row, a streak that extended all the way to 1998.

But a few crucial missed putts, a drive that he hit too far in the '96 Open (it ran into a bunker at the 18th hole) and a pulled approach shot into the water in '97 all conspired to prevent him from winning.

He did, however, break through to win a major title at the 1996 British Open, and also won the PGA Tour season-ending championship that year. In addition, he won two the PGA Tour's biggest non-majors, the Memorial Classic and the Colonial, plus the tour title in his adopted hometown of Phoenix.

On March 7, 2009, Lehman turned 50. (He was born on a Saturday, which is a partial explanation for why he didn't win the Masters. Had he been born on a Tuesday -- 25 Masters titles have been won by players born on Tuesday, compared with only seven for Saturday -- he would have beaten Olazabal in '94. Or if he'd been born on a Sunday; 18 Masters have been won by guys born on Sunday.) Since hitting the half-century mark, Lehman has won twice on the Champions Tour, including his first senior major, The PGA Senior Championship, in May. 

Also attempting to qualify at Columbus was Troy Merritt, the former Boise State All-American from Spring Lake Park who won the PGA Q-School last December (he led the 108-hole ordeal wire to wire) and has made more than $600,000 so far this year. But Monday wasn't his day, and he tied for 76th out of the 120 players (mostly pros and a lot of them PGA Tour regulars) at The Lakes and Brookside.

No one else from Minnesota (or with Minnesota ties) managed to reserve a place at Pebble Beach this year.

Donald Constable, who will be a senior with the Gophers in the fall, came tantalizingly close. He shot 69-71--140 at Bull Valley Golf Club in Woodstock, Ill., to finish third out of 31 players in the field -- and missed advancing by a single stroke.

The former state high school champ from Minnetonka -- Constable is also the reigning MGA Players' champion (he will defend that title in two weeks) -- still has a shot a landing a spot in the Open, because he's the first alternate from Woodstock.

Incidentally, the second alternate from there is former U.S. Open champ Corey Pavin, this year's Ryder Cup captain. Pavin, who played with 13-time Minnesota PGA Player of the Year Don Berry on Monday, shot 70-71--141 and finished fourth.

Berry finished seventh at 146 (75-71).

Former Gopher All-American Niall Turner tied for ninth at 147 (76-71), along with Jordan Ensrud (74-73) of Anoka.

Andy Paulson, the former MGA Player of the Year from White Bear Lake, was another shot back at 148 (76-72), one ahead of Perham's Taylor Cavanagh (72-77--149).

The youngest Minnesotan to make the sectional stage of qualifying, Wayzata High School senior Kyle Beversdorf, saw his chances of advancing disappear during a first-round 78. But he bounced back with a 72, and his aggregate of 150 tied him for 17th.

Next week, Beversdorf will be back in action against his contemporaries in the state high school tournament, Tuesday and Wednesday at Bunker Hills. He finished tied for fifth individually last year, and Wayzata won the team title.  

Brett Swedberg, the former state high school champion -- and reigning State Open champ -- from Alexandria, has been the hottest of all the Minnesota mini-tour players this year. He's won twice on the Gateway Tour and has made more than $46,000.

On Monday, he was at Littleton, Colo., where he shot 72-69--141 at Columbine Country Club. That was 3 under par, but it was five too many to qualify for the Open.

Tom Kite, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in '92, shot 137 (69-68) at Columbine and missed by a stroke. He is the second alternate from there.

Also missing in Colorado was Jon Sauer, the MGA's 2009 Player of the Year. Sauer, who turned professional not long ago, ended up at 149 (73-76).

Cameron Beckman, the former Burnsville star (in both hockey and golf, although he played No. 2 behind Jon Lindquist on the golf team) who has made close to $1 million on the PGA Tour already this year, missed by four shots at Memphis. He posted matching 70's at Germantown CC and Ridgeway CC, but he would have needed a 136 to get into a 5-for-2 playoff for the last spots.

Tommy Rymer, the mini-tour pro from Hastings who now operates out of Sarasota, Fla., made his attempt at Open qualifying at McArthur GC in Hobe Sound, Fla. In May, he was the medalist in local qualifying, but he had to settle for a pair of 73's at the McArthur course. Rymer's total of 146 tied him for eighth at a site where only the top three advanced, and it took a score of 139 to make it.

U.S. OPEN SECTIONAL QUALIFYING

COLUMBUS, OHIO

At The Lakes G&CC (par 72)

& at Brookside G&CC (par 72)

Qualifiers

1. Eric Axley, Knoxville, Tenn.           64-63--127

T2. Stuart Appleby, Australia             67-67--134

T2. Terry Pikadaris, Australia             66-68--134

T4. Tom Lehman, Alexandria         69-66--135

T4. Bo Van Pelt, Tulsa, Okla.            69-66--135

T4. Brendon De Jonge, Matthews, N.C. 69-66--135

T4. Ben Curtis, Stow, Ohio                69-66--135

T4. Hugo Leon, Tequesta, Fla.          67-68--135

T4. Alex Cejka, Las Vegas                 66-69--135

10. Aaron Baddeley, Australia          69-67--136

T11. Harrison Frazar, Dallas             73-64--137

T11. Davis Love, Sea Island, Ga.,     69-68--137

T11. Alex Martin, Liberty, Ohio       70-67--137

T11. Derek Lamely, Ft. Myers, Fla.  68-69--137

T11. John Mallinger, Newport Beach, Calif. 67-70--137

Did not qualify

T11. Rocco Mediate, Greensburg, Pa. 67-70--137 1st alt. (lost playoff)

T31. Justin Rose, England                  68-72--140

T55. Rickie Fowler, Marrieta, Calif.  70-73--143

T76. Troy Merritt, Sp. Lake Park  71-75--146

T76. Woody Austin, Derby, Kansas   71-75--146

T87. John Cook, Orlando, Fla.           75-73--148

WOODSTOCK, ILL.

At Bull Valley Country Club

Par 72

Qualifiers

1. Bennett Blakeman, Burr Ridge, Ill.        67-71--138

2. Jerry Smith, Scottsdale                          72-67--139

Did not qualify

3. Donald Constable, Minnetonka         69-71--140 1st. alternate

4. Corey Pavin, Dallas                              70-71--141 2nd alternate

T7. Don Berry, Rogers                           75-71--146

T9. Niall Turner, Minneapolis               76-71--147

T9. Jordan Ensrud, Anoka                     74-73--147

T12. Andy Paulson, White Bear Lake   76-72--148

T14. Taylor Cavanagh, Perham             72-77--149

T17. Kyle Beversdorf, Wayzata              78-72--150

LITTLETON, COLO.

At Columbine Country Club

Par 72

Qualifiers

T1. Stephen Allan, Australia                      69-67--136

T1. Jason Preeo, Highlands Ranch, Colo.  65-71--136

Did not qualify

T3. Zenon Brown, Arvado, Colo.              69-68--137 1st alternate

T3. Tom Kite, Dallas                                 69-68--137  2nd alternate

T8. Brett Swedberg, Alexandria             72-69--141

T21. Jon Sauer, St. Cloud                      73-76--149

T28. Todd Kolb, Sioux Falls                  76-80--156

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO

At Springfield Country Club

Par 70

Qualifiers

1. Brian Davis, England                          67-64--131

T2. Seung Yul Noh, South Korea           70-65--135

T2. Erik Compton, Coral Gables, Fla.     69-66--135

Did not qualify

T2. Brad Wright, Columbus, Ohio           67-68--135 1st alt. (lost playoff) 

5. Joe Jaspers, Huntersville, N.C.             69-67--136 2nd alt.

T32. Eric Johnson, Elk River               71-73--144

MEMPHIS

At Germantown CC (par 71)

& at Ridgeway CC (par 71)

Qualifiers

T1. Hudson Swafford, Tallahassee                  67-65--132

T1. Richard Barcelo, Reno                              66-66--132

T3. Deane Pappas, Winter Garden, Fla.          66-67--133

T3. Mathias Gronberg, Sweden                       64-69--133

T3. Paul Goydos, Coto De Caza, Calif.           66-67--133

T6. David Frost, South Africa                         66-68--134

T6. Morgan Hoffmann, Wyckoff, N.J.             67-67--134

T6. Shaun Micheel, Memphis                         67-67--134

T9. J.J. Henry, Ft. Worth                                69-66--135

T9. Brandt Snedeker, Nashville                      69-66--135

T11. Chris Stroud, Houston                           70-66--136

T11. Charles Warren, Greenville, S.C.           67-69--136

Did not qualify

T39. Cameron Beckman, Burnsville          70-70--140

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS

At Carlton Woods

Par 72

Qualifiers

1. Bob Estes, Austin, Texas                      69-67--136

T2. Robert Gates, The Woodlands, Texas  69-68--137

Did not qualify

T2. Roland Thatcher, The Woodlands      68-69--137 1st alt. (lost playoff)

4. A.J. Elgert, Lincoln, Neb.                     68-71--139 2nd alternate

Rodney Hamblin, St. Paul                     78-WD

HOBE SOUND, FLA.

At McArthur Golf Club

Par 72

Qualifiers

T1. Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kansas    67-71--138

T1. Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla.    73-65--138

3. Travis Hampshire, Tampa                  72-67--139

Did not qualify

T4. Kristoffer Shane, Ruskin, Fla.        72-70--142 1st alternate

T4. Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla.  70-72--142 2nd. alternate

T7. Tommy Rymer, Hastings               73-73--146