Tom Lehman arrived in Wichita, Kansas, in August of 1990 with his wife and 6-month-old baby. They were “literally dead broke, basically living out of a car.”
Lehman had spent the previous five years grinding around mini tours, trying to get back to the PGA Tour after a brief stint on the big stage from 1983-1985, right after he’d graduated from the University of Minnesota. He was set to tee it up at a Ben Hogan Tour event now known as the Korn Ferry Tour’s Wichita Open. The winning prize was $20,000.
“That was big money at the time,” he explained to a group of 70 college golfers at a pre-tournament dinner event ahead of the 2025 Santa Lucia Preserve Golf Club, where his youngest son, Sean, is competing.
Because he was an alternate and not a full member of the Hogan Tour at the time, Lehman didn’t have a caddie when he arrived in Wichita. That was a problem. So, he walked into the pro shop at Crestview Country Club in search of one. They didn’t have any. Lehman asked if they could help him find one. They obliged. A couple hours later, Lehman had his looper: A local high school wrestler who had never stepped on a golf course in his life.
“I’m thinking, ‘Alright, this is my guy this week,’” Lehman said.
“I trained him in the practice rounds. ‘This is what you do. Stand here. When I’m hitting, you’ve got to be here, this is when you take the pin out, this is how you rake the bunker.’ I basically told him how to do everything. And away we went.”
Lehman finished the week 14 under and won the tournament by a shot.
“Talk about being excited. I mean, you’re talking about a guy who’s traveling around in a broken down car with a wife and a little baby. That was such a huge, huge win for me and that $20,000 was the most amazing amount of money. It was such a blessing.”
The elation soon gave way to a moral dilemma. It was time to pay his caddie.
The two had agreed to $500 for the five days of work, but it’s customary for golfers to give their caddie 10 percent of tournament winnings. Lehman’s caddie didn’t know that, though.
“I did not want to pay him. I really didn’t. He didn’t read a single putt, he didn’t give me a club, he didn’t read the wind. He didn’t do anything a caddie does,” Lehman said with a grin as the group of college golfers erupted in laughter. “I just wanted to say, ‘Here’s 500 bucks and a dozen golf balls. Go.’”
It was quite the quandary. After all, that $2,000 would go a long way for Lehman and his family. He eventually came to a decision: “My caddie was part of the team that week. It was me and him against the world. I’m being honest when I say I really didn’t want to, but I went ahead and wrote him a check for $2,500.”
“Where in the golf guidebook does it say your caddie has to be good in order for you to pay him what he earned?” Lehman said.
Three months went by and Lehman had largely forgotten about it all. That was until he received a letter in the mail from the kid who’d carried his bag in Wichita.
The boy described his entire life to Lehman; how he’d been abandoned by his father at a young age, how he and his brothers had gotten into drugs and alcohol, how the local wrestling coach had taken him under his wing and encouraged him to “get off the streets.” He explained to Lehman that he’d changed directions in his life and had decided to try to continue his education.
“He wanted to go to school,” Lehman said. “There was a college not far away. He didn’t want to be far from his mom. But the money for tuition, he didn’t have it. He couldn’t afford it until he got the check that I gave him for $2,500.
“For me, it was an incredible lesson learned.”
Lehman was 31 at the time. He went on to become a five-time PGA Tour winner, the 1996 British Open Champion and even spent one week as World No. 1. He later captained the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team and won 13 times on the PGA Tour Champions.
His total career earnings are north of $35 million, which makes the description of his excitement for the $20,000 he won in Wichita almost laughable. But that small prize — and the young man who carried his bag as he won it — is perhaps his most memorable.
“It taught me that it’s not always about me. It’s about other people too and the folks around you.”
Before he took the microphone to speak to the group of players, donors and sponsors of the Santa Lucia Preserve Golf Club Collegiate, he told Golfweek finding the right caddie is a challenge. The players who cycle through caddies regularly are in a real struggle. He feels fortunate to have had Andrew Martinez by his side for much of his career.
“I told Andrew once, ‘If I needed you to be a good caddie, I would’ve fired you a long time ago,’” Lehman said with a chuckle. “That wasn’t true. He was a great caddie. But I told him, ‘You’re my caddie because I love you like a brother.’”
Lehman, now 66, lives in Scottsdale with his wife. He has four adult children and travels to watch his youngest son, Sean, play golf. He’s senior for Cal Poly, which is hosting the 2025 Santa Lucia Preserve Collegiate for the fourth straight year. The two competed in a “college-am” practice round event Sunday afternoon. They won.
Ultimately, his message delivered Sunday to a group of college golfers was one on the importance of having integrity, appreciating the position you’re in and making a positive impact on the people around you.
“Some of you will go on in golf, some of you will just use golf as a hobby or in your business but through golf, you can really touch people. Be aware that, as you move on and as you go about your lives in college, the impact that you can have on the people around you is either going to be negative or positive. Just make up your mind that you’re going to be a positive influence on the world.”
Read the full article here
