Bruce Lietzke

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Bruce Lietzke
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Bruce Alan Lietzke
Born (1951-07-18) July 18, 1951 (age 72)
Kansas City, Kansas
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Athens, Texas
Career
College University of Houston
Turned professional 1974
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 22
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 13
Champions Tour 7
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament 6th/T6: 1979, 1985
U.S. Open T17: 1981
The Open Championship T6: 1981
PGA Championship 2nd: 1991

Bruce Alan Lietzke (born July 18, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including two victories in the Canadian Open. He has had seven victories on the Champions Tour, including one senior major title.

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.[1]

Acknowledgments

Lietzke credits 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 and turned pro in 1974.

Successes

Lietzke's first PGA Tour victory was in the 1977 Tucson Open. Although he had to wait until the Champions Tour to win a major in the 2003 U.S. Senior Open, Lietzke has had a relatively successful career, winning a combined total of 20 tournaments so far on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. His career year on the PGA Tour was 1981, when he had three tournament victories. He played on the winning 1981 U.S. Ryder Cup team at Walton Heath Golf Club in England in what is considered by many to be the finest American team ever assembled.[2]

Lietzke's best finish in a major on the PGA Tour was a solo 2nd place at the 1991 PGA Championship.[3]

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.[4] Despite this he never finished below 74th on the money list. During his career, Lietzke played in 506 PGA Tour events..

Medical problems

In recent years, Lietzke has been plagued by the so-called "frozen shoulder syndrome" – the correct medical term is adhesive capsulitis – which has caused him to miss a considerable amount of playing time.

Hobbies

Lietzke enjoys collecting classic cars and has built an 11-car garage at his home in which to store his large collection; the crown jewel is a 1967 yellow Corvette Stingray convertible. He lists Bruce Springsteen as his favorite entertainer and Don "Big Daddy" Garlits as his favorite athlete. He makes his home in Dallas, Texas. In 1978, Lietzke was shown in print ads for the Dodge Magnum coupe, as also being a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda owner.

Lietzke was an avid supporter of the Sour Mash Open in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He has 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."[5]

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 United States Gene Littler
2 Feb 6, 1977 Hawaiian Open −15 (67-70-67-69=273) 3 strokes United States Don January, Japan Takashi Murakami
3 Jun 25, 1978 Canadian Open −1 (76-67-67-73=283) 1 stroke United States Pat McGowan
4 Feb 18, 1979 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open −15 (63-66-68-68=265) 2 strokes United States Buddy Gardner, United States Jim Thorpe,
United States Tom Watson
5 May 18, 1980 Colonial National Invitation −9 (63-68-71-69=271) 1 stroke United States Ben Crenshaw
6 Jan 18, 1981 Bob Hope Desert Classic −25 (65-66-65-70-69=335) 2 strokes United States Jerry Pate
7 Feb 8, 1981 Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open −10 (68-72-70-68=278) Playoff United States Raymond Floyd, United States Tom Jenkins
8 May 10, 1981 Byron Nelson Golf Classic +1 (68-74-69-70=281) Playoff United States Tom Watson
9 Aug 1, 1982 Canadian Open −7 (68-68-68-73=277) 2 strokes United States Hal Sutton
10 Mar 4, 1984 Honda Classic −8 (72-70-70-68=280) Playoff United States Andy Bean
11 May 15, 1988 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic −9 (66-69-66-70=271) Playoff United States Clarence Rose
12 May 24, 1992 Southwestern Bell Colonial −13 (69-68-64-66=267) Playoff United States Corey Pavin
13 Oct 23, 1994 Las Vegas Invitational −28 (66-67-68-66-65=332) 1 stroke United States Robert Gamez

PGA Tour playoff record (6–6)

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

Other wins (1)

Champions Tour wins (7)

Legend
Champions Tour 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 United States Doug Tewell
2 Sep 23, 2001 SAS Championship −15 (69-66-66=201) 3 strokes United States Allen Doyle, United States Gary McCord
3 Feb 24, 2002 Audi Senior Classic −8 (75-66-67=208) 1 stroke United States Hale Irwin, United States Gary McCord
4 May 12, 2002 TD Waterhouse Championship −11 (69-64=133) 2 strokes United States Larry Nelson
5 Sep 22, 2002 SAS Championship −14 (72-63-67=202) 4 strokes United States Gil Morgan, United States Sammy Rachels, United States Tom Watson
6 Apr 27, 2003 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf −10 (70-65-71=26) 1 stroke United States David Eger, United States Dana Quigley
7 Jun 29, 2003 U.S. Senior Open −7 (69-71-64-73=277) 2 strokes United States Tom Watson

Other senior wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T28 DNP 6
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP CUT T47 T19 T20 T41
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP 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 DNP T34
U.S. Open T38 T17 CUT CUT DNP T31 DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship T19 T6 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T30 T4 T16 T6 T65 T18 T5 T28 T62 T46
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Masters Tournament DNP DNP T13 T31 DNP T31
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT 2 T73 CUT DNP T23

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

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)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

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

See also

References

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External links

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