Tom Lehman is so content with himself at age 41 that not even a late mishap Thursday that cost him the Masters lead riled him up.
``Just a blip on the radar screen,'' said Lehman, who made a double bogey on No. 18 to finish with a 3-under-par 69.
He's alone in second place, one shot behind Dennis Paulson, who shot 4-under 68.
``I think I'm probably the most at peace with myself than I've been in a long time,'' Lehman said. ``I'm a pretty religious guy. I'm a Christian and I feel like that has given me a tremendous amount of peace, even more so than before. I'm pretty comfortable inside my own skin. That's a nice place to be.''
Lehman believes the peace he feels helped him break a three-year winless streak on the PGA Tour this season. The victory came in the Phoenix Open in late January.
``I think it's OK to play well and it's OK to play poorly,'' Lehman said. ``There's not as much pressure that I feel to have to perform to meet someone's expectations. I just do the best I can do. I'm a very competitive person, and I expect a lot of myself.''
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Lehman, one shot off Dennis Paulson's Masters-leading 68 after the opening round, checks his ball as he walks off the 13th green.Jonathan Ernst/Chronicle Staff
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Lehman's problems on the 18th hole started when he faded his tee shot into a grove of magnolia trees. The ball bounced away from the fairway ``back into the trees where it was deep, dark and dingy,'' Lehman said.
His second shot hit a big oak tree, leaving him 190 yards for his third shot to the green on the par-4 hole.
The shot rolled up the slope of the green toward the pin, then rolled back, leaving him a 45-foot putt. He three-putted for the double.
``All in all, it was a prety painless double bogey.''
Other than the double bogey, Lehman had five birdies (Nos. 1, 2, 7, 8, and 16) and 12 pars.
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•Tom Lehman
knows some shots will cost you
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``No bogeys,'' he said proudly.
He was one of only nine golfers to break par.
``I feel good about the round,'' Lehman said. ``I feel it's a tremendous score under the conditions.''
Those conditions were swirling winds of 12-18 mph with gusts up to 24 mph. The unpredictability of the wind turned club selection into guesswork many times.
``It was very difficult,'' Lehman said. ``You kind of had to key into and trust what you thought you were supposed to be doing. A lot of times you didn't feel like you were doing what you thought you should be doing. But we decided the wind was within a certain parameter. It's always shifting, but it's always going to generally be from this angle. So we'll try to decided the nest we could and just swing and you take what you get.''
In nine years on the PGA tour, Lehman has five victories, including one major championship - the 1996 British Open.
``I think any major's a great victory and to win this one would be a thrill of a lifetime,'' Lehman said.
Lehman unfazed by late slip
