TOWARDS the end of a gracious acceptance speech at Royal Lytham on Sunday. Tom Lehman said pointedly. "It was in God's plan for me to win today." For those who didn't already know, the newly crowned British Open champion was bearing witness to a relatively recent phenomenon in the world of professional golf the born again Christian.

As it happens, he is the fifth such player to triumph in the last 15 major championships a remarkable success rate of 33 per cent. Their growing influence first became a factor during the 1993 season when Bernhard Langer captured a second US Masters title and Paul Azinger achieved a long awaited breakthrough in the USPGA Championship.

Since then, Corey Pavin captured the US Open at Shinnecock Hills and was followed this year as the winner of America's blue riband by another born again Christian, Steve Jones. And such is the faith of the Christian golfing community, that the oddity of Pavin having been born Jewish, doesn't seem to cross their minds.

By a remarkable coincidence, Jones and Lehman were paired together in the last two ball on the final day at Oakland Hills. And as they walked together down the first fairway, Lehman quoted from the Book of Joshua, telling his rival. "The Lord wants you to be courageous and strong, for that is the will of God. Go after it." It seemed a remarkably generous act in the cut throat world of professional sport.

psychologist, Lehman commented: "I don't have any need of those guys, once I have the Bible. I've always been that way. You have to make a decision as to whether God is a part of you or not. For me, God and the Bible and what Christ taught is part of my life."

It doesn't necessarily guarantee that these players will remain serene under pressure. Indeed Lehinan smashed an errant five iron across his knee during the Hawaiian Open earlier this year and we had the spectacle of Azinger breaking his putter out of frustration, on the ninth green at Lytham last Thursday. As a general principle, however, they believe their faith gives them an inner strength in times of adversity.

Last Saturday night, as the prospective champion pondered a six stroke lead going into the final round of the British Open, his caddie, Andy Martinez, carefully chose a passage from Matthew chapter six, verses 25 to 34. Martinez, the former caddie of Johnny Miller, a member of the Mormon faith, is a fellow believer.

The passage started with the words, "That is why I tell you not to be anxious." And it ended "So do not be anxious about tomorrow Lehman holds the deep seated belief that not only can faith change any situation in the field of personal relationships, but, in a manner of speaking, it can move mountains.

One recalls the extent to which Azinger relied on his faith when he was struck down by cancer of the shoulder at the end of 1993. And it gave Lehman complete acceptance of the inherent danger in the removal of pre-cancerous polyps from his colon last year.

He spoke openly about it and about the importance of his family when we met on a transatlantic flight from New York to Dublin after the Ryder Cup last September. It was difficult not to be drawn towards this tough looking character with the build of a fighter, as he cradled his two month old baby son in his arms, at the rear of an Aer Lingus 747.

While gently rocking Thomas Junior, he made no attempt to minimise the impact of events at Oak Hill on himself and his US colleagues. It seemed little consolation that he had beaten Seve Ballesteros after a display of astonishing scrambling by the celebrated Spaniard. "To be honest, we would all love to somehow bring the clock forward two years and head directly to Valderrama, Just for the chance of winning the cup back," he said. "It's going to be a long wait until 1997."

Lehman was in Dublin to complete in the inaugural Smurfit European Open, in a belated response to an invitation by the tournament director, Jamie Birkmyre. In fact the entire Lehman family travelled, including wife Melissa and daughters Rachael and Holly.

Despite the strain of Oak Hill and the jet lag of transatlantic travel, he shot rounds of 70,72,73 and 72 for an aggregate of 287 and a share of ninth place behind a Christian colleague, Langer. And a week later he shared 13th place behind Anders Forsbrand in the German Masters in Berlin.

He clearly possesses remarkable resilience, given that as recently as seven years ago, he was down to his last $1,000. Original savings of $5,000 had been diminished by an outlay of $4,000 on air fares to South Africa. A second place finish in the South African Open, however, brought him $25,000 and the impetus to gradually scratch his way towards financial security.

Lehman started golf as a five year old in the small town of Austin north of Minneapolis. After finishing college, he earned his card on the USPGA Tour in 1983 but struggled desperately for three years finishing 183rd, 184th and 158th, leading to successive visits to the Qualifying School. He was sorely tempted to accept the offer of a coaching job with the University of Minnesota, but for the fact that he knew it would entail selling skis in the winter.

Unable to get back on the tour for the 1986 season, Lehman was forced to pursue a career in backwaters of the tournament game in Asia and South Africa. And when the Hogan Tour was launched in the US in 1990, he became a willing participant, gaining four victories, three of them in 1991 to become the leading money winner with $141,934.

That got him back on the regular tour in 1992 and this time there would be no regression. This time, he could return to the Asian Tour as a confident visitor and, with rich irony, would capture the Casio World Open in Japan in 1993. Then came the almost predictable home victories in the 1994 Memorial Tournament and the 1995 Colonial.

Of his challenge in the major championships, he said "Missing out on the 1994 Masters (he was second to Jose Maria Olazabal) hurt a lot, because I felt I could have been a little more aggressive, a little more committed to what I was doing," he said. "Oakland Hills (where he was runner up last month) also hurt because I felt I had the right attitude and a lot of courage. I went after a win there and it didn't happen. So, that was more difficult to handle."

But in the next breath he insisted "Everything about my life is almost perfect. I am blessed with a wonderful family and, when I play golf, there is virtually no pressure on me because I feel so good about myself. When I step on a golf course I play for the joy of playing, the joy of competing."

He is back at his home in Arizona for his son's first birthday tomorrow. As British Open champion, there will he additional demands on his time. But he is already looking towards a rather special, annual commitment a tournament which he runs in Minneapolis to raise money for a children's cancer research fund.

The feeling is that the old claret jug is in worthy hands.