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Bruce Lietzke
Bruce Lietzke
Personal information
Full name	Bruce Alan Lietzke
Born	July 18, 1951; Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Died	July 28, 2018 (aged 67); Athens, Texas, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
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
Other	2
Best results in major championships;
Masters Tournament	6th/T6: 1979, 1985
PGA Championship	2nd: 1991
U.S. Open	T17: 1981
The Open Championship	T6: 1981

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.

Early life

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

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

Professional career

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

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

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)

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 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)

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=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