Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2018 - 25

1984 (CUT)
DAVE TENTIS
1984 (CUT), 1999 (T50), 2000 (T14), 2001 (T37)
CHRIS PERRY
By 1984 most of the current qualifying criteria were in
place, and two amateurs from Minnesota made the Masters
(although they both missed the cut). Dave Tentis was there
as a result of having played on the U.S. Walker Cup team
in 1983, and Chris Perry made it because he had fi nished
second to Jay Sigel in the 1983 U.S. Amateur.
After making the Masters as an amateur in 1984, Perry
had to watch the tournament on TV for the next 14 years.
Minnesota's only three-time state boys high school champ
returned to Augusta in 1999 after winning a PGA Tour event,
the 1998 B.C. Open, and he ended up making the cut three
years in a row. His best fi nish was a tie for 14th in 2000, the
same year Lehman fi nished sixth. That year and 2005 remain
the only ones in which two Minnesotans placed in the top 20.
TOM LEHMAN
1993 (T3)
1994 (2)
1995 (40)
1996 (T18)
1997 (T12)
1998 (CUT)
1999 (T31)
2000 (6)
2001 (T18)
2002 (CUT)
2003 (CUT)
2005 (T13)
2006 (CUT)
Tom Lehman and his son
Thomas Jr. at the Masters in 2006.
keeps on going-off the green, down the
bank and into the water. But, as if by
some miracle, Olazabal's ball hung up on
the fringe and stayed dry. Not only that,
he then made his putt from the fringe for
an eagle 3.
Having outdriven Olazabal by about 20
As anyone who's been paying any attention over the last 25
years knows, the Minnesotan who has had the most success at
the Masters is Tom Lehman. But like many Minnesota golfers, it
took him a while to fi nd his way to Augusta. Lehman's fourth try
at the PGA Tour, in 1992, was the charm. He made just under
$580,000 in 1992, fi nishing sixth in the U.S. Open in the process
and earning a place in the 1993 Masters. He tied for third
in his fi rst appearance at Augusta.
Lehman should have won the 1994 Masters (his next appearance
at the tournament). He was leading after three rounds
and was still tied for the lead with Jose-Maria Olazabal when
they reached the 500-yard, par-5 15th hole. Olazabal's longiron
second shot landed on the front of the green and started
rolling backward. Normally, when that happens, the ball just
yards, Lehman hit a nearly perfect 6-iron that just missed the
fl agstick and rolled 18 feet past the cup. He then burned the
edge of the hole with his putt and had to settle for a birdie.
Lehman came away from the 15th green trailing by one. He
wound up losing by two, after hitting his tee shot at No. 18
" too well " and into a bunker. In the immortal words of Kurt
Vonnegut: " So it goes. "
A month later Lehman won the fi rst of his fi ve PGA Tour
titles when he blitzed the fi eld at the Memorial Tournament,
shooting a record 268, 20 under, to beat Greg Norman by fi ve
strokes. He also won a major championship two years later at
the 1996 British Open-but he never came as close to winning
the Masters again. He was sixth in 2000 and fi nished in the top
20 fi ve more times, including a valedictory tie for 12th in 2005.
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Spring 2018 MINNESOTAGOLFER
25
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Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2018

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