| Bruce Fleisher | |
| Fullname: | Bruce Lee Fleisher |
| Birth Date: | 1948 10, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Union City, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S. |
| Weight: | 205lb |
| College: | Miami-Dade Junior College Furman University |
| Yearpro: | 1969 |
| Extour: | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Prowins: | 35 |
| Pgawins: | 1 |
| Champwins: | 18 |
| Seneurowins: | 1 |
| Otherwins: | 15 |
| Masters: | T25: 1992 |
| Usopen: | T41: 1986 |
| Open: | CUT: 1969 |
| Pga: | T14: 1993 |
| 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 |
Bruce Lee Fleisher (October 16, 1948 – September 23, 2021) was an American professional golfer.
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]
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]
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]
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]
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Senior major championships (1) | |
| Other Champions Tour (17) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Caribbean Classic | −11 (66-69-70=205) | 2 strokes |  Isao Aoki | ||
| 2 | Feb 14, 1999 | American Express Invitational | −13 (67-67-69=203) | 3 strokes |  Larry Nelson | |
| 3 | Apr 25, 1999 | Home Depot Invitational | −11 (69-67-69=205) | 1 stroke | ||
| 4 | Jun 13, 1999 | BellSouth Senior Classic | −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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | RJR Championship | −8 (75-66-67=208) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin, Gary McCord | ||
| 16 | Verizon Classic (2) | −8 (68-70-67=205) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin | ||
| 17 | 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 | 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 |
Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1)
| 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 |
Fleisher won a gold medal at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and he coached the U.S. golf team at the 1989 Games.
Amateur
1968 (winners)
1969 (winners)
Professional
1990 (winners)