Tom Lehman does a little golf-hopping these days between the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour that is for the 50-and-over set.

It’s when he shows up for a PGA Tour event that he has to endure a little ribbing. “Yeah, they call me mister — Mister Lehman,” he said with a laugh. “Then I also get a lot of, ‘Hey, you can really play.’ Come on, it’s not like I’m ancient.”

This week, Lehman, 52, will be one of the youngsters as he tees it up as the defending champion in the Champions Tour Allianz Championship on The Old Course in Boca Raton starting Friday and running through Sunday.

In 2011, Lehman was named Player of the Year on the Champions Tour. In 1996, he was selected Player of the Year on the PGA Tour and in 1991 on the Hogan Tour, which is the predecessor of today’s Nationwide Tour. That makes Lehman the only golfer to be selected Player of the Year on all three tours, something he unabashedly admits he’s extremely proud of.

“I was very, very aware over the last couple of years I had a chance to do something that no one has done before,” Lehman said of winning all three. “When you work so hard and you want it so badly, you chase that dream, and then when the dream does come true, it’s significant.

“It’s the culmination of a journey. And it’s a journey that’s been a lot of fun.”

That said, the journey hasn’t always been easy.

At age 31, Lehman said he was “pretty close” to selecting a profession other than golf.

“There is a point where it seems you can get stuck,” he said.

And he was at that point.

“Somewhere in my early 30s, it seemed like something had to happen,” he said. “Something had to change, and change quickly, in order for me to keep going. That Hogan Tour was such a Godsend. It certainly gave me a bit of a second chance. I’m fortunate that things went well.”

Very well.

He became one of the top players on the PGA Tour, and won his first and only major, The British Open, in 1996. He collected five PGA Tour victories, and has already added five victories on the Champions Tour, three of them last year. And then there’s the money winnings, more than $29 million for his career. If that wasn’t enough, in 2006 he served as captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Obviously, it’s a good thing he didn’t put his golf clubs in the closet when things got discouraging during his early career.

These days he plays mainly on the Champions Tour – competing in 29 total tournaments a year ago with 21 of them on the Champions Tour. He said this year he won’t play that many tournaments, and that he’ll probably only play “three or four” PGA Tour events.

He found 29 events too many a year ago.

“I won’t do that again,” he said. “I can assure you of that.”

Even in his 50s, the competitor in him is evident.

“You always want to improve,” he said. “I think for as long as I play, I’m going to continually work hard to get better. All the other guys out there playing are also working hard trying to get better.”

He said the strong competition on the Champions Tour pushes him. “I think one of the reasons I played so consistently last year is because there are so many good players. Whether it’s Mark Calcavecchia, Nick Price, John Cook, Corey Pavin…you know you have to play well and score low.”

Comparing the Champions Tour and the PGA Tour, he said, “They are a different animal, no question. Every week, the PGA Tour is such a big production, huge crowds, network TV. Just a huge deal, a big deal, a big production. The Champions Tour is not quite as big a production. It’s just a little more laid-back.”

He said he feels on the Champions Tour, “A love of the game, the fun of the game, more playing for the trophy versus the huge, huge money and the notoriety that goes with it. I see a more relaxed atmosphere on the Champions Tour, but amazingly competitive and some awfully low scores.”