Bruce Lietzke

Bruce Lietzke
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Bruce Alan Lietzke
Born	(1951-07-18) July 18, 1951 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
PGA Tour Champions	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	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 with 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)

1997 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (with Scott McCarron)

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	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=26)	1 stroke	David Eger, Dana Quigley
7	Jun 29, 2003	U.S. Senior Open	−7 (69-71-64-73=277)	2 strokes	Tom Watson

Other senior wins (1)

2002 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Bill Rogers)

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

U.S. national team appearances

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

References

↑ "Bruce Lietzke". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
↑ Perry, Alex (July 20, 2011). "Ryder Cup reunion at Walton Heath". GolfMagic.com. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
↑ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved December 4, 2013.
↑ "PGA Tour Media Guide – Bruce Lietzke". PGA Tour. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
↑ "Bryce-Lietzke-Martin Scholarship Fund". Retrieved December 4, 2013.

External links

Bruce Lietzke at the PGA Tour official site

U.S. Senior Open champions

1980 Roberto De Vicenzo 1981 Arnold Palmer† 1982 Miller Barber 1983 Billy Casper† 1984 Miller Barber 1985 Miller Barber 1986 Dale Douglass 1987 Gary Player 1988 Gary Player† 1989 Orville Moody 1990 Lee Trevino 1991 Jack Nicklaus† 1992 Larry Laoretti 1993 Jack Nicklaus 1994 Simon Hobday 1995 Tom Weiskopf 1996 Dave Stockton 1997 Graham Marsh 1998 Hale Irwin 1999 Dave Eichelberger 2000 Hale Irwin 2001 Bruce Fleisher 2002 Don Pooley† 2003 Bruce Lietzke 2004 Peter Jacobsen 2005 Allen Doyle 2006 Allen Doyle 2007 Brad Bryant 2008 Eduardo Romero 2009 Fred Funk 2010 Bernhard Langer 2011 Olin Browne 2012 Roger Chapman 2013 Kenny Perry 2014 Colin Montgomerie† 2015 Jeff Maggert 2016 Gene Sauers

† indicates the event was won in a playoff

United States Ryder Cup team – 1981

Ben Crenshaw Raymond Floyd Hale Irwin Tom Kite Bruce Lietzke Johnny Miller Larry Nelson Jack Nicklaus Jerry Pate Bill Rogers Lee Trevino Tom Watson Dave Marr (non-playing captain)

Won: 18.5 – 9.5

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