Highlights from first half of the Champions Tour season

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John Cook had the best streak of the year at the start of the 2011 Champions Tour season.

The Champions Tour reaches the halfway mark of the 2011 season this week at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open.

Tom Lehman has won three times, including a major at the Regions Tradition, to take an imposing lead in the Charles Schwab Cup points list. He has 1,494 points in nine events for a comfortable lead over Nick Price (899) and Tom Watson (850). The season's second major title, the Senior PGA Championship, went to Watson in a playoff over David Eger.

Here's a look back at the first half of the Champions Tour season, some of the highlights and the most memorable moments.

Player of the (Half-) Year

With three victories and exceptional all-around play, Tom Lehman has established himself as the front-runner for Player of the Year honors. Somebody will have to get hot in the second half to extract the honor away from Lehman.

Lehman has six top 10s in nine starts. He is No. 1 in Total Driving and Greens in Regulation and second in scoring average (68.5).

Best Streak

With the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the line, John Cook went on a tear. Riding his strong finish to 2010, Cook arrived in Hawaii with visions of a solid performance to jump-start 2011 and he got it.

In the final round, Cook made five straight birdies after the turn -- a timely streak if ever there was one - to shoot a second straight 64 and post a 2-stroke victory over Lehman. Cook has gone on runs like that before but never on Sunday. Until Hawaii.

Best Shot(s)

It's hard to separate the two best shots. They went together like horse and carriage, cheese and wine.

And the two best shots put Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in the winner's circle for the second straight year at the Champions Skins Game.

Asking no quarter and giving none as the elder statesmen in the field, Nicklaus and Watson successfully defended their title thanks to two terrific shots on the par 3 17th hole at Royal Kaanapali Golf Course in Hawaii.

First, it was Nicklaus's turn. With five skins at stake, Nicklaus hit a 6-iron to 12 feet, then left it up to his longtime friend, rival and partner. Watson stepped up to the birdie putt and confidently knocked it into the back of the cup, the way he has done so many times before, to complete the birdie 2.

The parlay earned Nicklaus and Watson those five skins, $250,000 and the title.

Best Round

Nick Price won the Toshiba Classic, closing with successive 68s. But it was a spectacular first-round 60 at Newport Beach Country Club -- that's 11-under. The popular Price matched the Champions Tour record and had a lot of people talking about when somebody could shoot golf's magical number -- 59 -- on the Champions Tour.

Best Comeback

John Cook had the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am in his back pocket but he tried to throw it away. Cook made double bogey 6 on the final hole of regulation but rebounded with a birdie on the first extra hole to defeat Jay Don Blake.

Cook hit a 175-yard approach shot into the water on the 18th hole. He had almost the identical approach left when the playoff returned to the same hole and atoned in dramatic fashion. From a few yards closer, Cook lasered a 6-iron shot to six feet and made the decisive birdie.

Comeback Player

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Mark McNulty and David Eger teamed to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

Hands down, the first-half honors go to David Eger.

Eger's 2010 season was interrupted when he suffered a broken right ankle in June, missed more than two months during the summer and had the campaign curtailed early. Eger didn't waste time this season returning to the winner's circle. He teamed with Mark McNulty to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, his fourth Champions Tour victory. Eger nearly added a second victory a month later before losing a one-hole playoff to Tom Watson at the Senior PGA Championship.

Rough Flight, Smooth Landing

The first of Tom Lehman's three victories came at the Allianz Championship. He arrived in Florida on an overnight flight after playing 54 holes in 30 hours at the storm-plagued PGA TOUR stop in his hometown of Phoenix. Fatique? No problem. The adrenalin kicked in and Lehman's final round 69 featured five birdies.

Something Strange

The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a team event but there was John Cook going it alone, and doing quite well.

Cook's partner, Joey Sindelar, was forced to withdraw with a bad back. Sindelar suffered the injury a week earlier in Tampa and recovered well enough to start the 54-hole best-ball event. But the injury proved too severe for Sindelar to continue so Cook tried to go on without his former Ohio State University teammate.

Cook played the final 14 holes Saturday and had his "team" just three strokes off the lead with a 7-under 65. Cook withdrew before the final round, saying he didn't think it was fair to finish the tournament in that manner.

In last week's Insider, Vartan Kupelian reviewed his preseason top 10 and added five players who deserve inclusion now:

1. Tom Lehman: The three-time Champions Tour winner didn't make the original list because it wasn't clear whether he'd devote most of his time to the PGA TOUR or the Champions Tour. Now that he's essentially become a Champions Tour regular, he belongs at the head of the Class of '11. Won the first major, the Regions Tradition.

2. John Cook: A winner twice, in Hawaii and the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, got him off to a roaring start. The victory in Tampa was his first ever in Florida and ended an 0-for-4 playoff record. No. 3 on the Money List, No. 7 on the Charles Schwab Cup points list.

3. David Eger: Comeback Player of the Year in the first half. Eger, recovered from a broken right ankle which curtailed his 2010 season, teamed with Mark McNulty to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf for his fourth Champions Tour title. Nearly won again a month later before losing a playoff to Tom Watson at the Senior PGA Championship. Eger has been outstanding.

4. Peter Senior: Narrowly missed winning the Regions Tradition while posting four subpar rounds before losing to Tom Lehman in a playoff. Then he finished T5 at the Senior PGA Championship. A streak of five straight top 10s have moved him to No. 5 on the Charles Schwab Cup points list.

5. Loren Roberts: He's turned it around after a slow start. In his last four, Roberts has three top 8 finishes, including both major championships. He was third at the Regions Tradition and T8 at the Senior PGA Championship and had a T5 last week at Rock Barn. Returns to this week's Dick's Sporting Goods Open as the defending champion.

Champions Tour Insider Vartan Kupelian is a freelance contributor for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.