2009 Hazeltine PGA Championship: Lehman Hopes To Head To Hazeltine

Tom Lehman, who got a special exemption to play in the PGA Championship, said he feels good heading into this week's event at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, is striking the ball well, is excited to play and has high hopes.

"I played reasonably well at the U.S. Senior Open last week; I finished eighth," the Alexandria golfer said. "By and large, I've been playing pretty consistently throughout the year, and I feel good about that. My health is good. Everything about my body feels pretty good.

"I'm going to play a few [tournaments]. I've played a couple and I'll play, I would say, two or three more, throughout the rest of the year."

Lehman said he is playing the week after the PGA Championship at the JELD-WEN Tradition, a Champions Tour event in Sunriver, Ore. Lehman turned 50 earlier this year and won his debut event in the 50-and-up tour, teaming with Bernhard Langer to win at the Legends of Golf in a playoff in April.

Asked how he would describe Hazeltine National, Lehman said, "You know, I really haven't played there all that much." He finished in a tie for 29th at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine but did not play in the 1991 U.S. Open there.

"I played there a few times in college, just goofing around, that's about it," he said. "I don't have a lot of experience out there."

Lehman has been out to Hazeltine in recent days. "It's tough. It's long," he said. "... The length is difficult. The shapes of the greens are very demanding. So, if the greens get firm and they get fast, it's going to be hard to hit it close to the hole.

"It favors long hitters, for sure. The thickest rough is right off the edge of the fairway, so if you hit it just a little off line you're in trouble. If you hit it a lot off line, generally, you might get away with a little bit more. So, some of the guys who are notoriously wild off the tee, but very long, guys like [Phil] Mickelson and Tiger [Woods], have an advantage."