Bruce Fleisher
Personal information
Full nameBruce Lee Fleisher
Born(1948-10-16)October 16, 1948
Union City, Tennessee
DiedSeptember 23, 2021(2021-09-23) (aged 72)
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeMiami-Dade Junior College
Furman University
Turned professional1969
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins35
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
PGA Tour Champions18
European Senior Tour1
Other15
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT25: 1992
PGA ChampionshipT14: 1993
U.S. OpenT41: 1986
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1969
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Comeback
Player of the Year		1991
Senior PGA Tour
money list winner		1999
Senior PGA Tour
Player of the Year		1999
Senior PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year		1999
Senior PGA Tour
Byron Nelson Award		1999

Bruce Lee Fleisher (October 16, 1948 – September 23, 2021) was an American professional golfer.

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

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 Australia Ian Baker-Finch

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1991 New England Classic Australia Ian Baker-Finch Won with birdie on seventh extra hole

Latin American and Caribbean wins (6)

Other wins (9)

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 Japan Isao Aoki
2 Feb 14, 1999 American Express Invitational −13 (67-67-69=203) 3 strokes United States Larry Nelson
3 Apr 25, 1999 Home Depot Invitational −11 (69-67-69=205) 1 stroke United States Terry Dill, United States Jim Holtgrieve
4 Jun 13, 1999 BellSouth Senior Classic −16 (71-63-66=200) 1 stroke United States Al Geiberger
5 Aug 8, 1999 Lightpath Long Island Classic −10 (64-69-73=206) 2 strokes United States Allen Doyle
6 Oct 10, 1999 The Transamerica −17 (66-66-67=199) 1 stroke United States Allen Doyle
7 Oct 24, 1999 EMC Kaanapali Classic −17 (65-67-67=199) 1 stroke United States Allen Doyle
8 Feb 6, 2000 Royal Caribbean Classic (2) 30 pts (6-16-8=30) 2 points Argentina Vicente Fernández
9 Feb 20, 2000 GTE Classic −16 (67-64-69=200) 4 strokes United States Dana Quigley
10 May 7, 2000 Home Depot Invitational (2) −13 (67-68-68=203) Playoff United States Hubert Green
11 Jul 30, 2000 Lightpath Long Island Classic (2) −18 (63-66-69=198) 2 strokes United States Dana Quigley
12 Apr 22, 2001 Las Vegas Senior Classic −8 (70-68-70=208) 3 strokes Spain José María Cañizares, Argentina Vicente Fernández,
United States Walter Hall, United States Hale Irwin,
United States Doug Tewell, United States Larry Nelson
13 May 6, 2001 Home Depot Invitational (3) −15 (66-67-68=201) 3 strokes South Africa John Bland
14 Jul 1, 2001 U.S. Senior Open E (69-71-72-68=280) 1 stroke Japan Isao Aoki, United States Gil Morgan
15 Feb 24, 2002 RJR Championship −8 (75-66-67=208) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin, United States Gary McCord
16 Feb 23, 2003 Verizon Classic (2) −8 (68-70-67=205) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin
17 Feb 8, 2004 Royal Caribbean Golf Classic (3) −6 (69-70-71=210) 1 stroke United States Dana Quigley
18 May 2, 2004 Bruno's Memorial Classic −16 (64-68-68=200) 7 strokes United States Bruce Lietzke, United States D. A. Weibring

Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1999 Southwestern Bell Dominion Spain José María Cañizares, United States John Mahaffey Mahaffey won with birdie on second extra hole
Fleisher eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 2000 Home Depot Invitational United States Hubert Green Won with birdie on third extra hole
3 2001 State Farm Senior Classic United States Allen Doyle Lost to par on third extra hole

European Seniors 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 United States George Burns, Australia Bob Shearer

Playoff record

Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1990 Ben Hogan Gateway Open United States John Daly, United States 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
  Did not play

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 Japan Isao Aoki, United States 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

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Bruce Fleisher Profile". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  2. ^ Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KATV Publishing House. ISBN 978-1-60280-013-7.
  3. ^ Riess, Steven A., ed. (2015). Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-31745-946-0.
  4. ^ a b "Bruce Lee Fleisher". Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.
  5. ^ a b c "Biography from Bruce Fleisher's official site". Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  6. ^ a b Churylo, Julie (May 23, 2012). "Champion Golf Pro Bruce Fleisher To Coach The USA Open Golf Team". Maccabi USA.
  7. ^ Lieberman, Randall P. (February 23, 2015). "Maccabi USA to honor 15 from South Florida at brunch in Boca Raton". Sun-Sentinel.
  8. ^ "Bruce Fleisher". Maccabi USA. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  9. ^ Shefter, David (September 23, 2021). "Bruce Fleisher, Two-Time USGA Champion, Dies at 72". USGA.

External links

U.S. Senior Open champions
U.S. Amateur champions
Categories