Hazeltine members, this is for you:  Have you ever tried to hit a 7 iron over the Chaska water tower from the parking lot?  Tom Lehman has.  Somerset members, have you ever tried to play a round of golf on your knees?  Tom Lehman has.  Have you ever been kicked off the course at Interlachen Country Club?  Yep, you guessed it, Tom Lehman has.

During the course of Tom Lehman’s media sessions today, he let some ghosts out of his closet talking about some things he used to do as an Alexandria, MN student playing golf around the state.  Lehman, was his usual reserved self, but offered some great insight with stories of his childhood playing junior golf and also touching on the emotions of sending his daughter, Rachel, off to college on Monday.

“It’s fun to be home.  It’s always fun to play here,” Lehman said.

The Minnesotan turned Scottsdale, AZ resident also talked about Hazeltine National Golf Club and the fact that he hasn’t actually played the course many times.

“There’s never been a time when you faced four par 5s this long.  And it really puts a premium on driving the ball,” Lehman responded when asked if he’s ever faced a course like this in a major championship.  ”I think you’re going to see a lot more bogeys on par 5s than you probably have in a long, long time.

Lehman says his game right now is solid.  After dealing with nagging tendinitis issue in his elbow which caused him to store his clubs for 4 months, he seems ready to go. He’s in the midst of an active stretch of golf.  This will be his fifth tournament in six weeks and his fourth major in a row.  ”So, when it comes to being competition-ready and competition-tested I’ve been playing a lot.  So I feel my game is sharp that way,” Lehman added.

Lehman tees off at 8:15a.m. Thursday.

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