Bruce Fleisher
Bruce Lee Fleisher (October 16, 1948 – September 23, 2021) was an American professional golfer.
| Bruce Fleisher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Bruce Lee Fleisher | ||
| Born | October 16, 1948 Union City, Tennessee | ||
| Died | September 23, 2021 (aged 72) Palm Beach Gardens, Florida | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Miami-Dade Junior College Furman University | ||
| Turned professional | 1969 | ||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 35 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 1 | ||
| PGA Tour Champions | 18 | ||
| European Senior Tour | 1 | ||
| Other | 15 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | T25: 1992 | ||
| PGA Championship | T14: 1993 | ||
| U.S. Open | T41: 1986 | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT: 1969 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early years and amateur career
Fleisher was born in Union City, Tennessee, and was Jewish.[1][2][3]
In 1950, the Fleisher family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where Bruce began playing golf with his brothers, Leslie and Jerry. When Bruce was 14, the Fleishers moved to Miami, Florida.[4]
Amateur career
Fleisher became involved in golf at age seven by working as a caddie with his two brothers.[1][5] Fleisher attended Miami-Dade Junior College and Furman University.[1] In 1968 at age 19, he became the third-youngest player to win the U.S. Amateur.[1][5] He also was the low amateur at the 1969 Masters Tournament. He turned professional in 1969.[1]
Professional career
Fleisher won both individual and team gold medals in golf at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel.[6][7]
Fleisher spent much of his regular career as a club professional; he won the PGA Club Professional Championship in 1989. His regular tournament career was modest, with one win on the PGA Tour, the 1991 New England Classic, and a few wins in minor tournaments.
He was much more successful on the Champions Tour (now PGA Tour Champions) with 18 wins, including one senior major, the 2001 U.S. Senior Open.[1] Fleisher became the first player ever to earn back-to-back victories in his first two Champions Tour events, which helped him win Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards in 1999.[5] He also has one win on the European Seniors Tour, which came in 2000 at the Irish Seniors Open.[1]
He served as head coach for the USA Open Golf Team at the 1989 Maccabiah Games and the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel.[6]
Personal life
Fleisher and his wife Wendy lived in the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, area.[8] In 2017, he was inducted into the Greater Wilmington (North Carolina) Sports Hall of Fame.[4]
Fleisher died of cancer at age 72 on September 23, 2021.[9]
Amateur wins
- 1968 U.S. Amateur
Professional wins (35)
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 14, 1991 | New England Classic | −16 (64-67-73-64=268) | Playoff | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ian Baker-Finch |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | New England Classic | Ian Baker-Finch |
Won with birdie on seventh extra hole |
Latin American and Caribbean wins (6)
- 1971 Brazil Open
- 1980 Panama Open
- 1986 Jamaica Open
- 1990 Jamaica Open, Bahamas Open, Chevrolet Classic
Other wins (9)
- 1977 Little Crosby Pro-Am
- 1980 Florida Open
- 1981 South Florida PGA Championship
- 1987 Florida Open, South Florida PGA Championship
- 1989 PGA Club Professional Championship
- 1993 Pebble Beach Invitational
- 2015 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf (Legends division, with Larry Nelson)
- 2016 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf (Legends division, with Larry Nelson)
Champions Tour wins (18)
| Legend |
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Other Champions Tour (17) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 7, 1999 | Royal Caribbean Classic | −11 (66-69-70=205) | 2 strokes | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Isao Aoki |
| 2 | Feb 14, 1999 | American Express Invitational | −13 (67-67-69=203) | 3 strokes | Larry Nelson |
| 3 | Apr 25, 1999 | The Home Depot Invitational | −11 (69-67-69=205) | 1 stroke | Terry Dill, Jim Holtgrieve |
| 4 | Jun 13, 1999 | BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland | −16 (71-63-66=200) | 1 stroke | Al Geiberger |
| 5 | Aug 8, 1999 | Lightpath Long Island Classic | −10 (64-69-73=206) | 2 strokes | Allen Doyle |
| 6 | Oct 10, 1999 | The Transamerica | −17 (66-66-67=199) | 1 stroke | Allen Doyle |
| 7 | Oct 24, 1999 | EMC Kaanapali Classic | −17 (65-67-67=199) | 1 stroke | Allen Doyle |
| 8 | Feb 6, 2000 | Royal Caribbean Classic (2) | 30 pts (6-16-8=30) | 2 points |  Vicente Fernández |
| 9 | Feb 20, 2000 | GTE Classic | −16 (67-64-69=200) | 4 strokes | Dana Quigley |
| 10 | May 7, 2000 | The Home Depot Invitational (2) | −13 (67-68-68=203) | Playoff | Hubert Green |
| 11 | Jul 30, 2000 | Lightpath Long Island Classic (2) | −18 (63-66-69=198) | 2 strokes | Dana Quigley |
| 12 | Apr 22, 2001 | Las Vegas Senior Classic | −8 (70-68-70=208) | 3 strokes |  José María Cañizares, Vicente Fernández, Walter Hall, Hale Irwin, Doug Tewell, Larry Nelson |
| 13 | May 6, 2001 | The Home Depot Invitational (3) | −15 (66-67-68=201) | 3 strokes |  John Bland |
| 14 | Jul 1, 2001 | U.S. Senior Open | E (69-71-72-68=280) | 1 stroke |  Isao Aoki, Gil Morgan |
| 15 | Feb 24, 2002 | RJR Championship | −8 (75-66-67=208) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin, Gary McCord |
| 16 | Feb 23, 2003 | Verizon Classic (2) | −8 (68-70-67=205) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin |
| 17 | Feb 8, 2004 | Royal Caribbean Golf Classic (3) | −6 (69-70-71=210) | 1 stroke | Dana Quigley |
| 18 | May 2, 2004 | Bruno's Memorial Classic | −16 (64-68-68=200) | 7 strokes | Bruce Lietzke, D. A. Weibring |
Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999 | Southwestern Bell Dominion | José María Cañizares, John Mahaffey |
Mahaffey won with birdie on second extra hole Fleisher eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 2 | 2000 | The Home Depot Invitational | Hubert Green |
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 3 | 2001 | State Farm Senior Classic | Allen Doyle |
Lost to par on third extra hole |
European Senior Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 14, 2000 | AIB Irish Seniors Open | −7 (70-67-72=209) | 3 strokes | George Burns, Bob Shearer |
Playoff record
Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1990 | Ben Hogan Gateway Open | John Daly, Ted Tryba |
Tryba won with eagle on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 44LA | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship | CUT | |
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T44 | |||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | T41 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | T43 | T63 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T25 | ||||
| U.S. Open | |||||
| The Open Championship | |||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T33 | T14 | T61 |
LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Champions Tour major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | U.S. Senior Open | E (69-71-72-68=280) | 1 stroke | Isao Aoki, Gil Morgan |
Maccabiah Games
Fleisher won a gold medal at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and he coached the U.S. golf team at the 1989 Games.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy: 1968 (winners)
- Walker Cup: 1969 (winners)
Professional
- PGA Cup: 1990 (winners)
See also
References
- "Bruce Fleisher Profile". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KATV Publishing House. ISBN 978-1-60280-013-7.
- Riess, Steven A., ed. (2015). Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-31745-946-0.
- "Bruce Lee Fleisher". Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.
- "Biography from Bruce Fleisher's official site". Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- Churylo, Julie (May 23, 2012). "Champion Golf Pro Bruce Fleisher To Coach The USA Open Golf Team". Maccabi USA.
- Lieberman, Randall P. (February 23, 2015). "Maccabi USA to honor 15 from South Florida at brunch in Boca Raton". Sun-Sentinel.
- "Bruce Fleisher". Maccabi USA. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- Shefter, David (September 23, 2021). "Bruce Fleisher, Two-Time USGA Champion, Dies at 72". USGA.
External links
- Official website
- Bruce Fleisher at the PGA Tour official site
- Bruce Fleisher at the Official World Golf Ranking official site