Notebok: Lehman leads Champions Tour's charge

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This week, the Champions Tour visits Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland for the Senior British Open Championship. The purse is $2 million with the winner earning $315,600 and 631 Charles Schwab Cup points. Last year, Loren Roberts birdied four holes on the back nine to finish tied with Fred Funk and Mark McNulty after 72 holes. Roberts' routine par on the third extra hole sealed the victory.

LAST WEEK

• Tom Lehman (T14) posted the best finish of the nine Champions Tour players in the field at last week's British Open. Peter Senior and Tom Pernice Jr. tied for 60th. Mark Calcavecchia, who was second through 36 holes, finished 73rd. Sir Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Mark O'Meara, Loren Roberts and Tom Watson missed the cut.

• Tom Lehman holed a tap-in putt for eagle after almost acing the 357-yard final hole in Sunday's final round of the British Open for a 2-under 70 and a four-day total of 4-under 284. The 1996 British Open winner has never failed to finish in red numbers at an Open at St. Andrews, finishing 10-under in 2000 (T4) and 4-under in both 2005 (T23) and 2010 (T14).

• For the third consecutive year, a player from the over-50 age group has finished in the top-15 of the British Open -- Tom Lehman (T14-2010), Tom Watson (2nd-2009), and Greg Norman (T3-2008).

• Gary Player called fellow countryman Louis Oosthuizen before Sunday's final round at St. Andrews to give him some advice. The winner of nine major championships advised him to stay calm and have fun before warning him the crowd would likely be on Englishman Paul Casey's side.

• Robin Freeman (T67) was the only Champions Tour member to make the cut at the Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA TOUR last week.

THIS WEEK

• Tom Watson has five British Open titles and three Senior British Open victories. Seven of his eight wins have come in Scotland. His 1983 win at Royal Birkdale is the lone exception.

Lewis

• J.L Lewis celebrated his 50th birthday July 18 and will make his Champions Tour debut at the Senior British Open. Lewis earned two PGA TOUR victories, the most recent coming at the 2003 84 Lumber Classic of Pennsylvania. His best season came the same year, finishing No. 28 on the money list. Lewis is scheduled to blog about his experience this week. Click here to read his blog.

• Since the Senior British Open became an official Champions Tour event in 2003, Tom Watson is the only player to have made the cut in all seven.

• The Senior British Open was first held in 1987. Sir Bob Charles is the only player to compete in all 23.

• Double-points will be awarded for the Charles Schwab Cup the next two weeks as the Champions Tour has back-to-back major championships on the schedule. The U.S. Senior Open Championship at Sahalee CC in Seattle follows the Senior British Open.

• Players who travel to the next three Champions Tour events (Carnoustie, Seattle, Minneapolis/3M Championship) will log approximately 10,000 air miles and cross more than a dozen time zones.

• The "Summer of Fun" promotion continues on the Champions Tour Facebook page. Coming up in August -- Tuesday's Tips from a Pro and Friday Fun Trivia.

• Four Champions Tour members are scheduled to play the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR this week -- Paul Azinger, Fred Couples, Tom Pernice Jr. and Jim Rutledge.

ON THIS DATE

• 7/20/03 -- Craig Stadler comes from eight shots back in the final round and becomes the first Champions Tour player to win a PGA TOUR crown when he captures the B.C. Open by one stroke over Alex Cejka and Steve Lowery in Endicott, NY. One week earlier, Stadler had won the Champions Tour's Ford Senior Players Championship in Detroit. Stadler's win at the B.C. Open also made him the fifth oldest (at the time) winner in PGA TOUR history at 50 years, 1 month, 18 days.

• 7/21/05 -- Dana Quigley's record streak of 278 consecutive eligible events played ends at 278 when he decides not to compete at the Senior British Open. His streak began at the 1997 BankBoston Classic.

• 7/24/05 -- Tom Watson wins his second Senior British title, defeating Des Smyth in a playoff at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland.

• 7/25/09 -- Mark Calcavecchia reels off a PGA TOUR record nine straight birdies in the second round (Holes 12-2) of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey.

QUOTES TO NOTE
• "I have never known a course so frustrating and tough." -- Sandy Lyle on Carnoustie.

• "The first few weeks I was (in the U.S.) I played pretty well but could not believe how good the scoring was in the conditions we faced. I was almost ready to pack my bags and come home. If anyone thinks this is a weak Tour, they are wrong." -- Peter Senior, sharing his thoughts as a rookie on the Champions Tour.

• "It doesn't really matter how old you are if you're feeling good about what you're doing." -- Mark Calcavecchia who was second after 36 holes of the 2010 British Open Open Championship. Calcavecchia finished 73rd.