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Bruce Lietzke

American professional golfer

Field	Value
name	Bruce Lietzke
imagesize
fullname	Bruce Alan Lietzke
birth_date
birth_place	Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Athens, Texas, U.S.
height
weight	205 lb
nationality
college	University of Houston
yearpro	1974
extour	PGA Tour
Champions Tour
prowins	22
pgawins	13
champwins	7
otherwins	2
majorwins
masters	6th/T6: 1979, 1985
usopen	T17: 1981
open	T6: 1981
pga	2nd: 1991
wghofid
wghofyear
award1
year1
awardssection

Champions Tour Bruce Alan Lietzke (July 18, 1951 – July 28, 2018) was an American professional golfer. He won 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour. His best finish in a major championship was runner-up at the 1991 PGA Championship. He also had seven victories on the Champions Tour, including one senior major title, the 2003 U.S. Senior Open.

Early life and amateur career

Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas. He moved to Beaumont, Texas, with his parents in 1960 and lived there until 1977, graduating from Forest Park High School in 1969.

Lietzke credited his older brother, Duane, for introducing him to the game of golf at age five. He also credits Henry Homberg, a local Beaumont professional, along with Duane for having the greatest influences on his game when he first started playing.

Lietzke attended the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. He graduated in 1973.

Professional career

In 1974, Lietzke turned professional. Lietzke's first PGA Tour victory was in the 1977 Tucson Open. Overall, Lietzke won a combined total of 20 tournaments on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, including the 2003 U.S. Senior Open. On the PGA Tour in 1981, Lietzke had three tournament victories. He played on the winning 1981 U.S. Ryder Cup team at Walton Heath Golf Club.

Lietzke's best finish in a major on the PGA Tour was a solo second place at the 1991 PGA Championship.

Lietzke was well known for not practicing a great deal, and not playing in a large number of tournaments compared to his fellow competitors, electing to spend more time with his family. He did not play more than 25 events in any PGA Tour season and never played more than 20 tournaments in a single season after 1988. He never finished below 74th on the money list. During his career, Lietzke played in 506 PGA Tour events.

Lietzke was an avid supporter of the Sour Mash Open in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He played in the event numerous times. "The Bryce-Lietzke-Martin Scholarship Fund was the first fund established by the Sour Mash Open Golf Tournament Committee in 1990 in honor of the late Dr. John Coyle Bryce, PGA Golf Professional, Bruce Lietzke, and Larry Martin. The earnings of the fund are used to provide scholarships to worthy Wood County students who have shown an interest in golf."

Personal life

Lietzke and Jerry Pate were brothers-in-law. Lietzke's wife, Rose, and Pate's wife, Soozi, are sisters. Lietzke and Pate played together in the 1981 Ryder Cup.

He made his home in Dallas, Texas.

In April 2017, Lietzke was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma. He died on July 28, 2018, from complications of the disease and attempts at treating it, which his body rejected.

Professional wins (22)

PGA Tour wins (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of
victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jan 16, 1977	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open	−13 (70-66-70-69=275)	Playoff	USA Gene Littler
2	Feb 6, 1977	Hawaiian Open	−15 (67-70-67-69=273)	3 strokes	USA Don January, JPN Takashi Murakami
3	Jun 25, 1978	Canadian Open	−1 (76-67-67-73=283)	1 stroke	USA Pat McGowan
4	Feb 18, 1979	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open (2)	−15 (63-66-68-68=265)	2 strokes	USA Buddy Gardner, USA Jim Thorpe,
USA Tom Watson
5	May 18, 1980	Colonial National Invitation	−9 (63-68-71-69=271)	1 stroke	USA Ben Crenshaw
6	Jan 18, 1981	Bob Hope Desert Classic	−25 (65-66-65-70-69=335)	2 strokes	USA Jerry Pate
7	Feb 8, 1981	Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open	−10 (68-72-70-68=278)	Playoff	USA Raymond Floyd, USA Tom Jenkins
8	May 10, 1981	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	+1 (68-74-69-70=281)	Playoff	USA Tom Watson
9	Aug 1, 1982	Canadian Open (2)	−7 (68-68-68-73=277)	2 strokes	USA Hal Sutton
10	Mar 4, 1984	Honda Classic	−8 (72-70-70-68=280)	Playoff	USA Andy Bean
11	May 15, 1988	GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic (2)	−9 (66-69-66-70=271)	Playoff	USA Clarence Rose
12	May 24, 1992	Southwestern Bell Colonial (2)	−13 (69-68-64-66=267)	Playoff	USA Corey Pavin
13	Oct 23, 1994	Las Vegas Invitational	−28 (66-67-68-66-65=332)	1 stroke	USA Robert Gamez

PGA Tour playoff record (6–6)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1977	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open	USA Gene Littler	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
2	1977	MONY Tournament of Champions	USA Jack Nicklaus	Lost to birdie on third extra hole
3	1978	Tallahassee Open	USA Barry Jaeckel	Lost to par on first extra hole
4	1981	Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open	USA Raymond Floyd, USA Tom Jenkins	Won with birdie on second extra hole
Jenkins eliminated by par on first hole
5	1981	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	USA Tom Watson	Won with par on first extra hole
6	1984	Honda Classic	USA Andy Bean	Won with par on first extra hole
7	1988	GTE Byron Nelson Classic	USA Clarence Rose	Won with birdie on first extra hole
8	1992	GTE Byron Nelson Classic	USA Billy Ray Brown, USA Ben Crenshaw,
USA Raymond Floyd	Brown won with birdie on first extra hole
9	1992	Southwestern Bell Colonial	USA Corey Pavin	Won with birdie on first extra hole
10	1992	Canadian Open	AUS Greg Norman	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
11	1995	Mercedes Championships	AUS Steve Elkington	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
12	1998	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	USA Fred Couples	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score
victory	Runners-up
1	Nov 16, 1997	Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout
(with USA Scott McCarron)	−30 (68-59-59=186)	2 strokes	USA David Duval and USA Scott Hoch

Champions Tour wins (7)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of
victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 12, 2001	3M Championship	−9 (72-66-69=207)	2 strokes	USA Doug Tewell
2	Sep 23, 2001	SAS Championship	−15 (69-66-66=201)	3 strokes	USA Allen Doyle, USA Gary McCord
3	Feb 24, 2002	Audi Senior Classic	−8 (75-66-67=208)	1 stroke	USA Hale Irwin, USA Gary McCord
4	May 12, 2002	TD Waterhouse Championship	name=weather	Shortened to 36 holes due to weather.}}	2 strokes	USA Larry Nelson
5	Sep 22, 2002	SAS Championship (2)	−14 (72-63-67=202)	4 strokes	USA Gil Morgan, USA Sammy Rachels,
USA Tom Watson
6	Apr 27, 2003	Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf	−10 (70-65-71=206)	1 stroke	USA David Eger, USA Dana Quigley
7	Jun 29, 2003	U.S. Senior Open	−7 (69-71-64-73=277)	2 strokes	USA Tom Watson

Other senior wins (1)

2002 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Bill Rogers)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1972	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament				T28		6
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T47	T19	T20	T41
The Open Championship
PGA Championship			T38	T15	62	T16

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT	T11	T20	T42	T33	T6	T31	49		T34
U.S. Open	T38	T17	CUT	CUT		T31
The Open Championship	T19	T6	CUT
PGA Championship	T30	T4	T16	T6	T65	T18	T5	T28	T62	T46

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1995
Masters Tournament			T13	T31	T31
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	2	T73	CUT	T23

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament	2nd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	2	5	14	13
U.S. Open	0	0	0	3	11	7
The Open Championship	0	0	1	2	3	2
PGA Championship	1	3	4	9	19	17

Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1983 PGA – 1989 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1981 Open Championship – 1981 PGA)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Players Championship	CUT	CUT	T40	CUT	CUT	T24	T4	4	T3	T12	T7	T40	CUT	CUT	3

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Players Championship	T11	T6	T46	T28	CUT	T43	CUT		T13	T32

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2003	U.S. Senior Open	−7 (69-71-64-73=277)	2 strokes	USA Tom Watson

U.S. national team appearances

Ryder Cup: 1981 (winners)
UBS Cup: 2003 (tie)

Notes

References

"Bruce Lietzke". PGA Tour.
(1991). "Official 1991 PGA Tour Media Guide". PGA Tour Creative Services.
"Bruce Lietzke". Museum of the Gulf Coast.
"Golf Major Championships".
"Bruce Lietzke – Profile". PGA Tour.
"Bryce-Lietzke-Martin Scholarship Fund".
"Jerry Pate – Profile". PGA Tour.
Rosaforte, Tim. (June 22, 2017). "Family and friends rally around Bruce Lietzke as he takes diagnosis in stride".
McCabe, Jim. (28 July 2018). "Lietzke passes away at age 67". PGA Tour.
Strege, John. (July 28, 2018). "Bruce Lietzke, 67, succumbs to brain cancer".

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