# Bruce Lietzke

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

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.

## Amateur career

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

## Professional career

He turned pro in 1974. 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.

## Death

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 | Gene Littler |
| 2 | Feb 6, 1977 | Hawaiian Open | −15 (67-70-67-69=273) | 3 strokes | Don January, Takashi Murakami |
| 3 | Jun 25, 1978 | Canadian Open | −1 (76-67-67-73=283) | 1 stroke | Pat McGowan |
| 4 | Feb 18, 1979 | Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open (2) | −15 (63-66-68-68=265) | 2 strokes | Buddy Gardner, Jim Thorpe, Tom Watson |
| 5 | May 18, 1980 | Colonial National Invitation | −9 (63-68-71-69=271) | 1 stroke | Ben Crenshaw |
| 6 | Jan 18, 1981 | Bob Hope Desert Classic | −25 (65-66-65-70-69=335) | 2 strokes | Jerry Pate |
| 7 | Feb 8, 1981 | Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open | −10 (68-72-70-68=278) | Playoff | Raymond Floyd, Tom Jenkins |
| 8 | May 10, 1981 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | +1 (68-74-69-70=281) | Playoff | Tom Watson |
| 9 | Aug 1, 1982 | Canadian Open (2) | −7 (68-68-68-73=277) | 2 strokes | Hal Sutton |
| 10 | Mar 4, 1984 | Honda Classic | −8 (72-70-70-68=280) | Playoff | Andy Bean |
| 11 | May 15, 1988 | GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic (2) | −9 (66-69-66-70=271) | Playoff | Clarence Rose |
| 12 | May 24, 1992 | Southwestern Bell Colonial (2) | −13 (69-68-64-66=267) | Playoff | Corey Pavin |
| 13 | Oct 23, 1994 | Las Vegas Invitational | −28 (66-67-68-66-65=332) | 1 stroke | Robert Gamez |
PGA Tour playoff record (6–6)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1977 | Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open | Gene Littler | Won with birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 2 | 1977 | MONY Tournament of Champions | Jack Nicklaus | Lost to birdie on third extra hole |
| 3 | 1978 | Tallahassee Open | Barry Jaeckel | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1981 | Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open | Raymond Floyd, Tom Jenkins | Won with birdie on second extra hole Jenkins eliminated by par on first hole |
| 5 | 1981 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | Tom Watson | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 6 | 1984 | Honda Classic | Andy Bean | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 7 | 1988 | GTE Byron Nelson Classic | Clarence Rose | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 8 | 1992 | GTE Byron Nelson Classic | Billy Ray Brown, Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd | Brown won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 9 | 1992 | Southwestern Bell Colonial | Corey Pavin | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 10 | 1992 | Canadian Open | Greg Norman | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 11 | 1995 | Mercedes Championships | Steve Elkington | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 12 | 1998 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | Fred Couples | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |

### Other wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | Nov 16, 1997 | Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (with Scott McCarron) | −30 (68-59-59=186) | 2 strokes | David Duval and 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 | Doug Tewell |
| 2 | Sep 23, 2001 | SAS Championship | −15 (69-66-66=201) | 3 strokes | Allen Doyle, Gary McCord |
| 3 | Feb 24, 2002 | Audi Senior Classic | −8 (75-66-67=208) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin, Gary McCord |
| 4 | May 12, 2002 | TD Waterhouse Championship | −11 (69-64=133)* | 2 strokes | Larry Nelson |
| 5 | Sep 22, 2002 | SAS Championship (2) | −14 (72-63-67=202) | 4 strokes | Gil Morgan, Sammy Rachels, Tom Watson |
| 6 | Apr 27, 2003 | Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf | −10 (70-65-71=206) | 1 stroke | David Eger, Dana Quigley |
| 7 | Jun 29, 2003 | U.S. Senior Open | −7 (69-71-64-73=277) | 2 strokes | Tom Watson |
*Note: The 2002 TD Waterhouse Championship was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

### 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 | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 13 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 17 |
| Totals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 47 | 39 |
* 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 | Tom Watson |

## U.S. national team appearances

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