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.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Jul 14, 1991New England Classic−16 (64-67-73-64=268)Playoff Ian Baker-Finch
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult11991New England Classic Ian Baker-FinchWon 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) LegendSenior major championships (1)Other Champions Tour (17) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Feb 7, 1999 Royal Caribbean Classic−11 (66-69-70=205)2 strokes Isao Aoki2Feb 14, 1999American Express Invitational−13 (67-67-69=203)3 strokes Larry Nelson3Apr 25, 1999Home Depot Invitational−11 (69-67-69=205)1 stroke Terry Dill, Jim Holtgrieve 4Jun 13, 1999BellSouth Senior Classic−16 (71-63-66=200)1 stroke Al Geiberger5Aug 8, 1999Lightpath Long Island Classic−10 (64-69-73=206)2 strokes Allen Doyle6Oct 10, 1999The Transamerica−17 (66-66-67=199)1 stroke Allen Doyle7Oct 24, 1999EMC Kaanapali Classic−17 (65-67-67=199)1 stroke Allen Doyle8Feb 6, 2000 Royal Caribbean Classic (2)30 pts (6-16-8=30)2 points Vicente Fernández9Feb 20, 2000GTE Classic−16 (67-64-69=200)4 strokes Dana Quigley10May 7, 2000Home Depot Invitational (2)−13 (67-68-68=203)Playoff Hubert Green11Jul 30, 2000Lightpath Long Island Classic (2)−18 (63-66-69=198)2 strokes Dana Quigley12Apr 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 Nelson13May 6, 2001Home Depot Invitational (3)−15 (66-67-68=201)3 strokes John Bland14Jul 1, 2001U.S. Senior OpenE (69-71-72-68=280)1 stroke Isao Aoki, Gil Morgan15Feb 24, 2002 RJR Championship−8 (75-66-67=208)1 stroke Hale Irwin, Gary McCord16Feb 23, 2003 Verizon Classic (2)−8 (68-70-67=205)1 stroke Hale Irwin17Feb 8, 2004 Royal Caribbean Golf Classic (3)−6 (69-70-71=210)1 stroke Dana Quigley18May 2, 2004Bruno's Memorial Classic−16 (64-68-68=200)7 strokes Bruce Lietzke, D. A. Weibring
Champions Tour playoff record (1–2) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11999Southwestern Bell Dominion José María Cañizares, John MahaffeyMahaffey won with birdie on second extra holeFleisher eliminated by birdie on first hole22000Home Depot Invitational Hubert GreenWon with birdie on third extra hole32001State Farm Senior Classic Allen DoyleLost to par on third extra hole
European Seniors Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1May 14, 2000AIB Irish Seniors Open−7 (70-67-72=209)3 strokes George Burns, Bob Shearer
Playoff record Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11990Ben Hogan Gateway Open John Daly, Ted TrybaTryba won with eagle on first extra hole
Results in major championships Tournament19681969Masters Tournament44LAU.S. OpenCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTPGA Championship Tournament1970197119721973197419751976197719781979Masters TournamentU.S. OpenCUTCUTT44The Open ChampionshipPGA Championship Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters TournamentU.S. OpenT41The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipT43T63 Tournament19901991199219931994Masters TournamentT25U.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUTCUTT33T14T61
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) YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunners-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 1971 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1994 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 1997 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins List of Jewish golfers
References
External links