By Art Spander
PGATOUR.com Contributor

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Long ago and not so far away, Al Geiberger, known in some circles as the first person to shoot 59 and in others as the guy who ate peanut butter sandwiches during a round, was about as thin as well, the shaft of certain golf club. And thus came the nickname, "The Human 3-iron."

You wouldn’t want to go quite that far in describing the new Tom Lehman these days, but he certainly is wonderfully slender and, he says, marvelously fit, one description firmly linked to the other.

So the man who carries the official title 2006 Ryder Cup captain and is carrying some 25 pounds fewer on his 6-foot-2 frame -- and in what he says is his best shape in years -- believes he also may carry an unofficial title, Ryder Cup team member.

As we’re all well aware, the last U.S. captain who competed for the Ryder Cup was Arnold Palmer in 1963, meaning it’s as rare as, well, you can’t say as a double eagle because Brian Gay recorded one Friday on the par-5 first hole at Riviera, where the Nissan Open is being played.

What you can say is that it doesn’t happen very often.

Which is not doing anything to dissuade Lehman from trying -- especially with his name high on the leaderboard both this week at the Nissan Open and last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am where he finished seventh. And that, despite a “train wreck,’’ as Lehman called it, a double-bogey, the final day on Pebble Beach’s 14th hole.

There was nothing worse than a bogey on Lehman’s card Friday in the Nissan Open, two of those against three birdies, and his 1-under par 70 and 5-under par total of 137 left him very much in contention.

“I’m not Arnold Palmer, I don’t want to go there,’’ Lehman said with a chuckle when reference was made to him being captain and Ryder Cup team member.

“But what you want are your 12 best players, and I truly believe in my heart if I keep working on my game and keep playing and giving a total commitment to my game, that I can be one of the top 12 players on the U.S. TOUR."

Even though he will be 47 in two weeks.

Even though he hasn’t won in exactly six years.

Even though in 2005 he was 46th on the money list.

Even though there’s a danger of being preoccupied with worries about being captain. “I don’t really worry about our team a whole lot,’’ Lehman said. “I have a lot of confidence in our team, in our guys. It’s just that ideas creep into my mind. I’m the kind of person with a lot of ideas, and I think of them over a 4-foot birdie putt sometimes. That’s the real problem.’’

Another problem was arthritis in his knees and feet. “One day you wake up, and your body hurts so much,’’ he explained, “I just couldn’t swing properly.’’

So beginning last August, he began a training program, the results of which are visible in the new, slim body.

“I have to get back to the winner’s circle,’’ Lehman said. “That’s what I expect. I wanted to get myself ready to play this year, and I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job.

“I feel better now than I have over the last 15 years, and easily, that’s part of the reason I’ve done this well. I had to get in shape. My knees and feet were giving me so many problems. Now I’m completely pain free for the first time in a long, long time."

Ten years ago, of course, Lehman won his major, the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham St. Annes. The same year he was second in the U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. He was third in the U.S. Open in both ’95 and ’77, a fantastic stretch of golf in the big events.

“That seems like a long time ago,’’ Lehman mused. “Seems like forever.

“But now I’m driving it extremely well, my putting is good -- I’m making all the short ones -- and overall I’m hitting it nicely. My game is solid.’’

When someone wondered if he considered himself a player or captain, Lehman answered, “I’m a PGA TOUR player who was asked to be the Ryder Cup player. I’m still focusing on my own game.’’

And obviously quite well.