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.

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)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Houston
Turned professional1974
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins22
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

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Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas.[1][2] He moved to Beaumont, Texas, with his parents in 1960 and lived there until 1977, graduating from Forest Park High School in 1969.[3]

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

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

Professional career

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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.[4]

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.[5] 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."[6][failed verification]

Personal life

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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.[7]

He made his home in Dallas, Texas.

Death

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In April 2017, Lietzke was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.[8] He died on July 28, 2018, from complications of the disease and attempts at treating it, which his body rejected.[9][10]

Professional wins (22)

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PGA Tour wins (13)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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Results in major championships

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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

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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

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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

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Wins (1)

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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

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bruce Lietzke". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Official 1991 PGA Tour Media Guide. PGA Tour Creative Services. 1991. p. 104.
  3. ^ "Bruce Lietzke". Museum of the Gulf Coast. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  5. ^ "Bruce Lietzke – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "Bryce-Lietzke-Martin Scholarship Fund". Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "Jerry Pate – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. ^ Rosaforte, Tim (June 22, 2017). "Family and friends rally around Bruce Lietzke as he takes diagnosis in stride". Golf Digest.
  9. ^ McCabe, Jim (July 28, 2018). "Lietzke passes away at age 67". PGA Tour.
  10. ^ Strege, John (July 28, 2018). "Bruce Lietzke, 67, succumbs to brain cancer". Golf Digest.
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