Invensys Classic notebook: Lehman settles for second

Victoria Sun

Monday, Oct. 15, 2001 | 11:44 a.m.

Before Tom Lehman won the British Open and before he represented the U.S. in the Ryder Cup, he was a relative unknown trying to win the Nevada Open in the late 1980s.

As Lehman remembers it, he led the event by three strokes heading into the last round.

Back then, Lehman said the large purse of about $100,000 attracted many players who were working their way toward the PGA Tour.

"I shot a 66 at the Tropicana and lost by one," Lehman said Sunday after finishing the $4.5 million Invensys Classic at 29-under to tie Rory Sabbatini for second, one stroke behind winner Bob Estes.

"Clark Dennis shot a 62 and won, so this kind of reminds me of that a little bit. "Nevada sometimes isn't so lucky. It's a good thing I don't gamble."

Lehman's luck seemingly ran out at the 16th and 18th holes. He tied Estes for the lead at 29-under with a 20-foot birdie put on the par-4 15th hole but missed a crucial opportunity on No. 16, a 560-yard par-5, while Estes capitalized with a two-putt birdie to take the lead for good.

Lehman hit a driver to about 220 yards, then hit a 4-iron into the water. He then hit a sand wedge to 12 feet and managed par.

"I hit a really good drive there," Lehman said. "I used a 4-iron, the club slipped in my hand or something. It just cut it real thin. I knew I needed to make a birdie so it was a big mistake there. It was a big deal."

On the par-4, 444-yard 18th hole, Lehman needed a birdie to force a playoff with Estes.

"I needed it to fly about another two feet," Lehman said of his second shot. "I was trying to hit it right at the flag.

"The wind just kind of kept it up to the right, but I hit a nice shot, very solid. It started off where I wanted, just didn't turn much."

Lehman entered the final round three strokes behind Scott McCarron, who finished sixth at 26-under. Lehman started slow with a birdie on No. 3 and a bogey on No. 4 to be even after five holes before a 15-foot birdie putt on six followed by a 10-foot birdie on No. 7 revived his round.

"For the last 13, I was 6-under which I was very happy with," Lehman said. "I thought starting with the sixth hole I hit a lot of good shots, a lot of good putts.

"In my opinion, you can't second guess yourself or beat yourself up when you shoot 29-under; 29-under is awfully good and good enough to win at some tournaments. It just wasn't good enough this week."

"I did a lot of good things this week," Riley said, smiling. "I'm looking forward to the next two weeks because I'm getting close to my goal of being in the top 40 of the money list not only for the money, but because that would get me into the Masters."

"I've been struggling with the greens all week," Parnevik said. "It's been very tough to read them. I had a lot of fun this week. I was hoping to play better, but it didn't work out."

Until this year, only the players in the top 30 on the PGA Tour's money list who had their tour cards qualified. The rule was changed in September to allow special temporary tour members to qualify when it became evident that Howell had a good shot at earning enough money through sponsor's exemptions and top 10 finishes. Howell turned pro after he won the 2000 NCAA championship his junior year at Oklahoma State, but did not earn his tour card for this year at Q-School.

"I'm getting closer," Howell said after he shot a 67. "But there are two more events so we'll see how things unfold."