Bruce Lee Fleisher (October 16, 1948 – September 23, 2021) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Early years and amateur career

Fleisher was born in

Union City, Tennessee Union City is located in Obion County, Tennessee, United States. The 2020 census reported the population of the town as 11,170. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion County and Fulton Count ...

, and was Jewish. In 1950, the Fleisher family moved to

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

, where Bruce began playing golf with his brothers, Leslie and Jerry. When Bruce was 14, the Fleishers moved to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Amateur career

Fleisher became involved in golf at age seven by working as a caddie with his two brothers. Fleisher attended

Miami-Dade Junior College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

and

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

. In 1968 at age 19, he became the third-youngest player to win the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

. He also was the low amateur at the

1969 Masters Tournament The 1969 Masters Tournament was the 33rd Masters Tournament, held April 10–13 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. George Archer won his only major championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Billy Casper, George Knudson, and Tom ...

. He turned professional in 1969.

Professional career

Fleisher won both individual and team gold medals in golf at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel. Fleisher spent much of his regular career as a club professional; he won the

PGA Club Professional Championship The PGA Professional Championship is a golf tournament for golf club professionals and teachers who are members of the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It has been held by the PGA of America since 1968, when touring professionals spl ...

in 1989. His regular tournament career was modest, with one win on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

, the 1991

New England Classic The New England Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1969 through 1998. It was held under various names at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton, Massachusetts. Tournament highlights *1975: Roger Maltbie wins for the second conse ...

, and a few wins in minor tournaments. He was much more successful on the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

(now PGA Tour Champions) with 18 wins, including one senior major, the 2001

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

. Fleisher became the first player ever to earn back-to-back victories in his first two Champions Tour events, which helped him win

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

and Rookie of the Year awards in 1999. He also has one win on the

European Seniors Tour The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...

, which came in 2000 at the

Irish Seniors Open The Irish Senior Open is the Irish stop on men's golf's European Senior Tour. It was played from 1997 to 2010 and was contested at several different courses around Ireland. From 1997 to 2007 it was sponsored by Allied Irish Banks. In 2021, the tou ...

. He served as head coach for the USA Open Golf Team at the

1989 Maccabiah Games The 13th Maccabiah Games brought 4,500 athletes to Israel from 45 nations. Jewish athletes from Hungary participated for the first time since World War II, Jewish athletes from Russia had been permitted, by their country, to play for the first ti ...

and the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

Personal life

Fleisher and his wife Wendy lived in the

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Palm Beach Gardens is a city in Palm Beach County in the U.S. state of Florida, 77 miles north of downtown Miami. , the population was 59,182. Palm Beach Gardens is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6 ...

, area. In 2017, he was inducted into the Greater Wilmington (North Carolina) Sports Hall of Fame. Fleisher died of cancer at age 72 on September 23, 2021.

Amateur wins

*1968

Professional wins (35)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

Latin American and Caribbean wins (6)

*1971

Brazil Open The Brasil Open was a tennis tournament held annually in São Paulo, Brazil. It was part of the ATP Tour 250 series, and was one of the main events in the Brazilian tennis calendar alongside ATP Tour 500 Rio Open. Since 2004, it was a part of t ...

*1980

Panama Open The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 1 ...

*1986

Jamaica Open The Jamaica Open is a golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardize ...

*1990

, Bahamas Open, Chevrolet Classic

Other wins (9)

*1977 Little Crosby Pro-Am *1980

Florida Open The Florida Open is the Florida state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is now organized by the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA). It has been played annually since 1942 at a variety of courses around the ...

*1981

South Florida PGA Championship The South Florida PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the championship of the South Florida section of the PGA of America. The tournament has been played annually since 1979, the year the section was founded. Alan Morin and Paul Trittle ...

*1987

*1989

*1993 Pebble Beach Invitational *2015

Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18 ...

(Legends division, with

Larry Nelson Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level. Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in Acworth, Georgia, northwest of A ...

) *2016

(Legends division, with

)

Champions Tour wins (18)

Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)

European Senior Tour wins (1)

Playoff record

Ben Hogan Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1969 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Maccabiah Games

Fleisher won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the 1969 Maccabiah Games in Israel, and he coached the U.S. golf team at the 1989 Games.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

: 1968 (winners) *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

: 1969 (winners) Professional *

PGA Cup The PGA Cup is a men's golf competition for club professionals played between a Great Britain and Ireland team and a United States team. The winning team is presented with the Llandudno Trophy. The competition is run by the British PGA and the PG ...

: 1990 (winners)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleisher, Bruce American male golfers Furman Paladins men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of senior major golf championships Jewish golfers Golfers from Tennessee Maccabiah Games medalists in golf Maccabiah Games gold medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1969 Maccabiah Games Jewish American sportspeople People from Union City, Tennessee 1948 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American Jews