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Bruce Fleisher
American professional golfer (1948–2021)
American professional golfer (1948–2021)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Bruce Fleisher |
| imagesize | |
| fullname | Bruce Lee Fleisher |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Union City, Tennessee, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S. |
| height | |
| weight | 205 lb |
| nationality | |
| college | Miami-Dade Junior College |
| Furman University | |
| yearpro | 1969 |
| retired | |
| extour | PGA Tour |
| Champions Tour | |
| prowins | 35 |
| pgawins | 1 |
| champwins | 18 |
| seneurowins | 1 |
| otherwins | 15 |
| majorwins | |
| masters | T25: 1992 |
| usopen | T41: 1986 |
| open | CUT: 1969 |
| pga | T14: 1993 |
| wghofid | |
| wghofyear | |
| award1 | PGA Tour Comeback |
| Player of the Year | |
| year1 | 1991 |
| award2 | Senior PGA Tour |
| money list winner | |
| year2 | 1999 |
| award3 | Senior PGA Tour |
| Player of the Year | |
| year3 | 1999 |
| award4 | Senior PGA Tour |
| Rookie of the Year | |
| year4 | 1999 |
| award5 | Senior PGA Tour |
| Byron Nelson Award | |
| year5 | 1999 |
| awardssection |
Furman University Champions Tour Player of the Year](pga-tour-comeback-player-of-the-year) money list winner](senior-pga-tour-money-list-winners) Player of the Year](senior-pga-tour-player-of-the-year) Rookie of the Year](senior-pga-tour-rookie-of-the-year) Byron Nelson Award](senior-pga-tour-byron-nelson-award) Bruce Lee Fleisher (October 16, 1948 – September 23, 2021) was an American professional golfer.
Early life
Fleisher was born in Union City, Tennessee, and was Jewish.
In 1950, the Fleisher family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where Bruce began playing golf with his brothers, Leslie and Jerry. Fleisher became involved in golf at age seven by working as a caddie with his two brothers.
When Bruce was 14, the Fleishers moved to Miami, Florida.
Amateur career
Fleisher attended Miami-Dade Junior College and Furman University. In 1968 at age 19, he became the third-youngest player to win the U.S. Amateur. He also was the low amateur at the 1969 Masters Tournament. He turned professional in 1969.
Professional career
Fleisher won both individual and team gold medals in golf at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
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. 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. He also has one win on the European Seniors Tour, which came in 2000 at the Irish Seniors Open.
He served as head coach for the USA Open Golf Team at the 1989 Maccabiah Games and the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Personal life
Fleisher and his wife Wendy lived in the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, area. In 2017, he was inducted into the Greater Wilmington (North Carolina) Sports Hall of Fame.
Fleisher died of cancer at age 72 on September 23, 2021.
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 | AUS Ian Baker-Finch |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | New England Classic | AUS 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 | JPN Isao Aoki |
| 2 | Feb 14, 1999 | American Express Invitational | −13 (67-67-69=203) | 3 strokes | USA Larry Nelson |
| 3 | Apr 25, 1999 | Home Depot Invitational | −11 (69-67-69=205) | 1 stroke | USA Terry Dill, USA Jim Holtgrieve |
| 4 | Jun 13, 1999 | BellSouth Senior Classic | −16 (71-63-66=200) | 1 stroke | USA Al Geiberger |
| 5 | Aug 8, 1999 | Lightpath Long Island Classic | −10 (64-69-73=206) | 2 strokes | USA Allen Doyle |
| 6 | Oct 10, 1999 | The Transamerica | −17 (66-66-67=199) | 1 stroke | USA Allen Doyle |
| 7 | Oct 24, 1999 | EMC Kaanapali Classic | −17 (65-67-67=199) | 1 stroke | USA Allen Doyle |
| 8 | Feb 6, 2000 | Royal Caribbean Classic (2) | 30 pts (6-16-8=30) | 2 points | ARG Vicente Fernández |
| 9 | Feb 20, 2000 | GTE Classic | −16 (67-64-69=200) | 4 strokes | USA Dana Quigley |
| 10 | May 7, 2000 | Home Depot Invitational (2) | −13 (67-68-68=203) | Playoff | USA Hubert Green |
| 11 | Jul 30, 2000 | Lightpath Long Island Classic (2) | −18 (63-66-69=198) | 2 strokes | USA Dana Quigley |
| 12 | Apr 22, 2001 | Las Vegas Senior Classic | −8 (70-68-70=208) | 3 strokes | ESP José María Cañizares, ARG Vicente Fernández, |
| USA Walter Hall, USA Hale Irwin, | |||||
| USA Doug Tewell, USA Larry Nelson | |||||
| 13 | May 6, 2001 | Home Depot Invitational (3) | −15 (66-67-68=201) | 3 strokes | ZAF John Bland |
| 14 | Jul 1, 2001 | U.S. Senior Open | E (69-71-72-68=280) | 1 stroke | JPN Isao Aoki, USA Gil Morgan |
| 15 | Feb 24, 2002 | RJR Championship | −8 (75-66-67=208) | 1 stroke | USA Hale Irwin, USA Gary McCord |
| 16 | Feb 23, 2003 | Verizon Classic (2) | −8 (68-70-67=205) | 1 stroke | USA Hale Irwin |
| 17 | Feb 8, 2004 | Royal Caribbean Golf Classic (3) | −6 (69-70-71=210) | 1 stroke | USA Dana Quigley |
| 18 | May 2, 2004 | Bruno's Memorial Classic | −16 (64-68-68=200) | 7 strokes | USA Bruce Lietzke, USA D. A. Weibring |
Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999 | Southwestern Bell Dominion | ESP José María Cañizares, USA John Mahaffey | Mahaffey won with birdie on second extra hole |
| Fleisher eliminated by birdie on first hole | ||||
| 2 | 2000 | Home Depot Invitational | USA Hubert Green | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 3 | 2001 | State Farm Senior Classic | USA 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 | USA George Burns, AUS Bob Shearer |
Playoff record
Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1990 | Ben Hogan Gateway Open | USA John Daly, USA 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 | JPN Isao Aoki, USA 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
- PGA Cup: 1990 (winners)
References
References
- "Bruce Fleisher Profile". PGA Tour.
- Wechsler, Bob. (2008). "Day by Day in Jewish Sports History". KATV Publishing House.
- (2015). "Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century". Routledge.
- "Biography from Bruce Fleisher's official site".
- "Bruce Lee Fleisher". Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.
- 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.
- Shefter, David. (September 23, 2021). "Bruce Fleisher, Two-Time USGA Champion, Dies at 72". USGA.
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