Lehman due for victory

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

When we last glimpsed Tom Lehman at Waialae Country Club in 2001, he was shaking his head, hoping out loud that "maybe next year will be the year."

Well, "next year" is here with this week's Sony Open in Hawai'i, and Lehman is back chasing what, for him, has become more elusive than a rainbow, that first Waialae victory.

For almost as many years as he has been playing the course — and after more than a decade there as a perennial guest he's on a first-name basis with the staff at the nearby Kahala Mandarin — Lehman has lived and breathed the "wait 'til next year" mantra.

Through the Hawaiian Open and its successor, the Sony Open in Hawai'i, Lehman has been the best player in the field never to have won an event there. His consistency has earned him more than $800,000, which has meant considerable consolation, but still no championship trophy.

If they awarded a Mr. Congeniality prize, it would be the Lehman perpetual trophy.

Maybe this will finally be that year. Perhaps the Sony Open in Hawai'i, which opens Thursday, will provide the breakthrough.

For sure, Lehman is overdue. Consider, that in his past nine starts at Waialae, only twice has he not finished in the top 15. Six times he has finished in the top 6 and twice been runner-up.

Except for 1998 when he finished an uncharacteristic 69th, Lehman has gone into the final round with a chance of winning there. Over his past nine starts, Lehman has gone over par but four times in 36 rounds.

"I like the course, the whole setup here," Lehman said. "Normally when you feel that comfortable and enjoy being somewhere that much you play well. I've always seemed to hit the ball reasonably well to make enough putts to finish high, but never quite enough to win."

As well as Lehman has played, he has been frustrated by somebody else playing even better. Last year he fashioned a 16-under par 264 only to see Brad Faxon go 20-under. In 1996, he was two strokes back of Jim Furyk. The year before, Lehman was three strokes behind John Morse.

As Lehman lamented last year, "I've played well and someone else has just played phenomenal. And, I've let some get away, obviously. It bothers me. I feel like I've played a lot better than my record would indicate."

In this he looks to the example of Paul Azinger, the patron saint of all those who have found frustration at Waialae. Azinger finally won in 2000, after 14 tries.

"Maybe," Lehman has said, "I can pull an Azinger, too."

If so, "next year" will have finally arrived.