Bruce Lietzke

Bruce Alan Lietzke (July 18, 1951 – July 28, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 13 tournaments on the PGA Tour between 1977 and 1994, including two victories in the Canadian Open. His best finish in a major championship was at the 1991 PGA Championship where he finished second, three strokes behind John Daly. He had seven victories on the Champions Tour, including one senior major title, the 2003 U.S. Senior Open. He played in the 1981 Ryder Cup.

Bruce Lietzke
Personal information
Full nameBruce Alan Lietzke
Born(1951-07-18)July 18, 1951
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
DiedJuly 28, 2018(2018-07-28) (aged 67)
Athens, Texas, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Houston
Turned professional1974
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins22
Highest ranking14 (September 13, 1992)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour13
PGA Tour Champions7
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament6th/T6: 1979, 1985
PGA Championship2nd: 1991
U.S. OpenT17: 1981
The Open ChampionshipT6: 1981

Early life

Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas.[2][3] He moved to Beaumont, Texas with his parents in 1960 and lived there until 1977, graduating from Forest Park High School in 1969.[4]

Acknowledgments

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. 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 had a relatively successful career, winning a combined total of 20 tournaments 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.[5]

Lietzke's best finish in a major on the PGA Tour was a solo second place at the 1991 PGA Championship.[6]

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

Hobbies

Lietzke enjoyed collecting classic cars and built an 11-car garage at his home in which to store his large collection; the crown jewel was a 1967 yellow Corvette Stingray convertible. He listed Bruce Springsteen as his favorite entertainer and Don "Big Daddy" Garlits as his favorite athlete. He made his home in Dallas, Texas.

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."[8]

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.[9]

Medical problems and death

In April 2017, Lietzke was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.[10] He died on July 28, 2018 from complications of the disease and attempts at treating it, which his body rejected.[11][12]

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.YearTournamentOpponent(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)
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=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)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1972 1973 1974 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 1994 1995
Masters Tournament T13 T31 T31
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT 2 T73 CUT T23
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament0000251413
U.S. Open000003117
The Open Championship00001232
PGA Championship0103491917
Totals01037194739
  • 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
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Senior major championships

Wins (1)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2003U.S. Senior Open−7 (69-71-64-73=277)2 strokes Tom Watson

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References
  1. "Week 37 1992 Ending 13 Sep 1992" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  2. "Bruce Lietzke". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  3. Official 1991 PGA Tour Media Guide. PGA Tour Creative Services. 1991. p. 104.
  4. "Bruce Lietzke". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  5. Perry, Alex (July 20, 2011). "Ryder Cup reunion at Walton Heath". GolfMagic.com. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  6. "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  7. "Bruce Lietzke – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. "Bryce-Lietzke-Martin Scholarship Fund". Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  9. "Jerry Pate – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  10. Rosaforte, Tim (June 22, 2017). "Family and friends rally around Bruce Lietzke as he takes diagnosis in stride". Golf Digest.
  11. McCabe, Jim (28 July 2018). "Lietzke passes away at age 67". PGA Tour.
  12. Strege, John (July 28, 2018). "Bruce Lietzke, 67, succumbs to brain cancer". Golf Digest.
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