PGA Tour’s Lehman has strong words on George Floyd: ‘Everybody needs to hurt deeply’
Tom Lehman used the moment to say a prayer. For the country. For George Floyd.
Lehman, a 61-year-old professional golfer and Minnesota native, applauded the PGA Tour for doing something to raise awareness for Floyd’s death, a black man who was killed while in police custody last month in Minneapolis.
“There’s so much to say about that,” Lehman said. “But what I would say is this: I think everybody needs to feel deeply what happened and to hurt deeply because of what happened to George Floyd. I think everybody needs to understand that when you have an absolute disregard for the suffering or pain of somebody else or the death that you cause on somebody else, if you have no regard for that, you are a part of the problem and you need to get your [stuff] together.
“I just prayed for our country,” Lehman continued. “I prayed for that man’s family, for George’s family. I prayed for his soul. I just prayed that the chaos that we live in can be wisely moved forward so that decisions are made that actually are meaningful and helpful.”
The PGA Tour announced plans to take a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. every day during the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club this weekend. A white police officer, who has since been charged with second-degree murder, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds.
The decision has been met with praise by the players, including top-ranked Rory McIlroy and No. 3 Brooks Koepka.
Phil Mickelson, reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and defending Colonial champion Kevin Na all observed it on the No. 13 tee on Thursday. McIlroy and Koepka, who are paired together, had an afternoon tee time but will be on the course when a moment of silence is observed again Friday.
“As the PGA Tour commits to amplifying the voices and efforts to end systemic issues of social and racial injustices, we have reserved the 8:46 a.m. tee time to pause for a moment of silence, prayer and reflection,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said moments before three horns blew to stop play.
Lehman’s day
Outside of his passionate words on Floyd and the state of the country, Lehman turned in one of the best rounds of the day. He shot a 5-under 65 and is tied for sixth going into Day 2.
The 61-year-old Lehman, who won the 1995 Colonial, became the oldest player to shoot a round of 65 or better in a PGA Tour event since 1980.
“It’s just a great old golf course and it’s in immaculate condition, a perfect day for scoring, barely any breeze, soft fairways, soft greens,” said Lehman, who had a daughter attend TCU. “The greens have some speed but they’re not overly fast, so you can be quite aggressive.
“I’ve been aiming for this week for a while. I live in Arizona, and we’ve been able to play golf all the way through this COVID-19 thing, so I’ve been playing a lot, practicing a lot. My game feels pretty good. I love the golf course. It benefits people who put the ball in the fairway, no doubt. Today I hit it straight and made a few putts.”
Nod to frontline workers
Caddies during this week’s tournament are wearing two names on the back of their bibs — their players and the names of an area healthcare worker on the front lines fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
A couple of those names are The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth medical student Kristina Fraser and Center for Geriatrics Director Dr. Janice Knebl.
Fraser is on the bib being worn by Justin Thomas’ caddie, while Knebl’s is on the caddie for Harold Varner III.
“I am so proud of HSC’s service to our community at the university’s COVID-19 test sites, and I am honored to represent all the HSC students, staff and faculty who made them successful,” Fraser said in a news release. “It was an experience we will never forget.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 7:09 PM with the headline "PGA Tour’s Lehman has strong words on George Floyd: ‘Everybody needs to hurt deeply’."
