# Bruce Fleisher

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.
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.

## Amateur career

Fleisher became involved in golf at age seven by working as a caddie with his two brothers. 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 | Ian Baker-Finch |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1991 | New England Classic | 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 | 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 | Terry Dill, Jim Holtgrieve |
| 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 | Feb 6, 2000 | 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 | Apr 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 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 | Feb 24, 2002 | RJR Championship | −8 (75-66-67=208) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin, Gary McCord |
| 16 | Feb 23, 2003 | Verizon Classic (2) | −8 (68-70-67=205) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin |
| 17 | Feb 8, 2004 | 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 |

### 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 | George Burns, Bob Shearer |

## Playoff record

Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 1990 | Ben Hogan Gateway Open | John Daly, 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 | 1971 | 1976 | 1977 |
| Masters Tournament | | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T44 |
| The Open Championship | | | |
| PGA Championship | | | |
| Tournament | 1981 | 1983 | 1986 |
| 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 | 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)