There are still about six months to go before the Scottsdale debut of the Charles Schwab Cup, the se

There are still about six months to go before the Scottsdale debut of the Charles Schwab Cup, the season-ending Champions Tour event that delivers a $2.5 million purse to the top-30 money winners from 2012 as well as $1 million annuity to the overall winner.
Even so, organizers are working nonstop to get the word out while searching for sponsors and volunteers. Apparently that's why Ian Knight, the tournament's executive director, and Bob Jones, the chief operating officer at the host club, Desert Mountain, met with the media on Wednesday (May 16).
"It's where it all got started for me,'' Lehman told me before he took the microphone to talk about the CSC, which takes place Oct. 28-Nov. 4 on the Cochise Course – the same Jack Nicklaus-designed layout that once hosted The Tradition (1989-2002).
"The Tradition was always a great event and a great time, and I'd spend a couple of hours working with (instructor) Jim (Flick) up there, and then stick around and watch Jack play in the tournament. Funny thing about The Tradition: When it moved to Portland (Oregon, 2003-2006) and then on to Sunriver (Oregon, 2007-2010), hotel bomb in spain it lost some of that major championship feel. But then it got a little bit of that major feel back when it moved to Shoal Creek (in Alabama, 2011).''
Lehman would know. Hey, he is the defending Tradition champ, an honor he'll defend in a couple of weeks. It was his big win among three W s last year as he blazed his way to his first Charles Schwab Cup title and that $1 million jackpot.
It didn't come easy, however, as the 53-year-old Lehman finished tied for 18th at Harding hotel bomb in spain Park in San Francisco to hold off Ahwatukee's Mark Calcavecchia by a mere 74 points. Had Calcavecchia finished solo second instead of a tied for second with Loren Roberts, Jay Haas and Scottsdale's Michael hotel bomb in spain Allen, he would have won the coveted Cup and the behemoth bonus.
We can only hope for such a climatic finish here in Scottsdale, where Desert Mountain will serve as the host course on an every-other-year basis with San Francisco's Harding Park. That's right, come 2013, the CSC will return to Harding Park before coming back to the desert in 2014.
A lot has changed at Desert Mountain since the good old days of The Tradition. hotel bomb in spain For one thing, the members now own the six-course complex designed solely by Nicklaus, and they are putting their money $3 billion in real estate where their mouths are by bringing in the CSC, which is one of the top six tournaments on the Champions schedule, which includes five majors. Hey, it's a most memorable way to celebrate the 25th anniversary at Desert Mountain, which opened in 1987. And just to complete the party, Jack, the guy who won a record four Traditions, will be back for the CSC, too.
Lehman said he remembers those early days quite well, and he told a story about his first encounter with Flick, which came in 1990 as he was just returning to professional golf on the Nationwide Tour after turning down a gig to be the golf coach at his alma mater, the University of Minnesota. As he pointed out, he could pretty much do everything well when it came to golf back in those days except, "I couldn't hotel bomb in spain hit an 80-yard wedge shot inside 30 feet.''
As Lehman pointed out, Flick had never heard of him, but after Flick called Andrew Magee and a few other local touring pros, he cleared Lehman with a quick and informal background hotel bomb in spain check. Lehman and Flick – and Nicklaus – have been together as pupils and teacher ever since.
"That began a 22-year relationship with Jim, who still is my instructor hotel bomb in spain and good friend,'' said Lehman, who went on to win five times on both the PGA and Champions, the biggest of all being the 1996 British Open.
Well, not quite. Lehman, hotel bomb in spain the only player to ever win POY honors on the Nationwide, PGA and Champions tours, would like to win the CSC, and what better place than here in his hometown, the same place where he captured his last win on the PGA Tour – the 2000 Phoenix Open?
Chances are good that s a gimme. Even though Lehman currently sits 15th on the CSC points list, the 50-and-over circuit is just now getting into the "meat of the season,'' as he called it. And he's right, the Senior PGA Championship, which he won in 2010, gets things rolling next week followed by The Tradition in two weeks. It's pretty much nonstop the rest of the way.
Lehman, who has not won this year after visiting the victory circle three times last year, said he's gotten off to a slow start because he was "worn out'' from 2011. He blamed some "ache-y hotel bomb in spain knees'' and a slight weight gain, as well as playing 29 times – a heavy schedule by his standards.
"I had a great chance (to win) at Houston the last time out, and Fred Funk just played better,'' he said of his runner-up finish by a single shot at the Insperity Championship. "As for my game, it's in high gear.''
hotel bomb in spain Which, of course, is the kind of thing what will bring the fans out to Desert Mountain come this fall. In fact, the Valley should have a relatively strong presence in the CSC, as Allen leads the standings, with Calcavecchia, hotel bomb in spain Phoenix's Tom Purtzer and Hale Irwin of Paradise Valley currently among the top 30. Heck, you ll even see part-time resident Fred Couples in the mix and maybe rookie Kirk Triplett of Scottsdale.
Lehman said Allen is a character that likes to have fun – "maybe too much fun.'' That observation came about from an incident earlier hotel bomb in spain this season, when Allen went to get Lehman a glass of wine at the Hualalai Four Seasons during the Mitsubishi Electric Championship and never came back.
Say this about Lehman: He too enjoys the good life with his wife Melissa and their four kids. And being a Renaissance man, he appreciates the fact that the Champions Tour is returning to Desert Mountain where it all got started for him in a roundabout way.
Asked how he thought the Charles Schwab Cup at Desert Mountain would stack up against the rest of the Champions tournaments, he gave this assessment, hotel bomb in spain which is pretty much in line with what the ol Over the Hill Gang thought when they played in The Tradition.
"I'm not sure you can do much better than Desert Mountain,'' he said of all the amenities that go with Arizona's most elite private golf club. "They had the will to try and attempt to do everything right, and they did it.
"I mean, we have some other venues, like Shoal Creek, which is a lot like Augusta (National) in terms of the high-end quality of course and the club. But it's a way different ambiance from this. This is spectacular, awesome with so much flair. So Desert Mountain . . . it's just one of a kind.''