Tom Lehman, the winner of the 1996 British Open, has now won his second Champions Tour major with a sudden death playoff victory over Peter Senior of Australia. Lehman had a two putt par on the second playoff hole, the 444-yard par- 4 18th. Senior bogeyed the hole after hitting his second shot in the swale on the right side of the green. He chipped it up six feet, but missed the par putt. Senior had just missed a birdie putt on the first playoff hole from about 15 feet. The ball just slipped by on the right.
Lehman, the native of Alexandria, Minn., shot a 69 the final day. His birdie on 15 on Sunday may have been his biggest moment. He hit his second shot on the 405-yard par four right at the stick and it landed a couple of feet in front of the hole and spun back 15 feet below the hole. Lehman, who said he struggled with the putter all week, sank his putt to take the lead at 13 under. Senior tied it on 17 with a birdie. Senior parred 18 and Lehman parred his last three in. He had some trouble on 17 with a drive in the woods but punched  out, got it on the green with his third shot and two putted for par. On 18, Lehman put it about 15 feet  but his birdie putt was short as Senior listened for the crowd noise instead of watching.

What an event. Ninety thousand were expected for the four days and I went out Saturday and it was a great crowd. Very knowledgeable and polite fans. The course was unbelievable and I think the pros loved it. Shoal will have two more Regions Tradition tournaments. It’s a classic venue. One announcer on the Golf Channel compared it to Augusta.

What a tournament, too. Mark Calcavecchia looked pretty solid on Saturday with a six shot lead going into 12, but doubled 12, which proved to be costly. His lead was one shot going into Sunday, but he took a three shot lead heading into 12 at 14 under after a birdie on 11. But 12 was costly again for Calc as he double bogeyed it for the second straight day. He hit his tee shot into the woods, punched out, then hit a seven iron four feet and it looked like he might save his par and maintain his three shot  lead. But he three-putted and only had a one shot lead. Lehman made his birdie on 15 and Calc dropped some more shots shooting a 75 for the day and finishing tied for fifth at 9 under. He was visibly frustrated throughout the day.

Mike Thompson, Bruno’s Event team leader Gene Hallman and Shoal Creek head pro Eric Williamson deserve a lot of credit for this sensational tournament. The course was awesome, the people working were terrific and the play was exceptional. Shoal Creek gets an A+ in my book that’s for sure. The Regions Tradition will be back next year and it should be just as good or even better particularly if the weather cooperates like it did this year.

Lehman took home $330,000 and has a solid lead in the Charles Schwab standings, similar to the Fed Ex Cup on the PGA Tour. The payout for the winner of the Schwab Cup is $1 million to the winner.

(Tom Lehman captures his second major on the Senior Tour at the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek.)