Strange week at Augusta for Lehman

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Lehman waved his club in disgust when the ball disappeared from view, stood in the middle of the fairway with his right hand on his hip, then took a few practice swings before heading off to find it.

After locating the ball, Lehman decided to play it instead of taking a drop. The shoes and socks came off, and the pants were rolled up. Stepping carefully into the shallow water, he settled in for a mighty swing.

Unfortunately for Lehman, he managed to move the ball only 4 or 5 yards, watching glumly as it settled in thick rough on the opposite side — dry but still short of the green.

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Lehman didn’t even bother to put his shoes back on before he swung again, chipping about 15 feet short of the flag, tucked into the back right corner of the massive green. He missed the putt and marked down a bogey — one of only 16 players who didn’t make at least a par on a hole that surrendered 30 birdies and six eagles.

This is an important week for Lehman, who could move closer to an automatic spot on the U.S. team that plays Europe this fall in the Ryder Cup, looking to avenge a crushing loss at home two years ago.

Lehman would like to be the first playing-captain for the Americans since Arnold Palmer in 1963. The top 10 automatically make the team, and Lehman was 12th in points coming into the Masters. If he doesn’t get in that way, he could use one of his two captain’s picks to draft, well, the captain — but only if he’s playing well enough to be deserving.

Coincidentally, Lehman’s group included Ian Woosnam, captain of the European team. They didn’t spend much time talking about Ryder Cup.

“I asked him if he was busy. He said, ’Fairly.’ He asked if I was busy. I said, ’Fairly,”’ Lehman recounted. “We talked a little about handling the media. It was a friendly round of golf.”

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