Despite Health Scare, Defending Champ
Still Has To Pinch Himself
By Ken Klavon, USGA
Baltimore, Md. – Before the start of the U.S. Open, Hale
Irwin and Tom Kite were asked what they thought of Bruce Fleisher’s
decision to skip the major for a Senior Tour tournament.
Irwin and Kite, two stalwarts on the Senior Tour, didn’t
do a total rip job on Fleisher, but they were critical. In
a nutshell, they felt Fleisher, senior or not, was thumbing
his nose at one of the most prestigious honors in golf, and
at a time when the Senior Tour was thirsting for attention.
After all, Fleisher was the previous year’s Senior Open winner.
And, as defending champ, he was privy to the most desirable
reward that comes with it – a free pass into the next U.S.
Open.
Fleisher went on to play in the BellSouth Senior Classic
instead, where he tied for second.
“To be quite frank,” said Fleisher before practicing Wednesday,
“and we’ll make this short, I saw the course [Bethpage Black];
I thought it was unplayable for my game.”
Fleisher knows his limitations better than anyone. In a riches-to-rags-back-to-riches
story, the 53-year-old former U.S. Amateur champion (1968)
normally defers to the ‘elder statesmen’ on tour. He refuses
to volley back and forth in the media but definitely values
their opinions. Especially if it’s coming from an Irwin or
Kite. Irwin did say Tuesday that he would seek out Fleisher
and apologize.
“I understand where Hale and Kite were coming from,” said
Fleisher. “I think in their hearts they felt I would be a
wonderful representative of the Senior Tour. But it was my
choice -- it wasn’t theirs -- and you have to respect it.”
In retrospect, it may have been the correct decision to miss
the U.S. Open. Not because he came close to his first victory
on the Senior Tour this year. Nope, it had more to do with
health reasons.
While in Tennessee, Fleisher volunteered for a prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) screening that revealed he had a high chance
for cancerous cells being present.
It’s a testament to his ability that he was able to go out
and play some of his best golf of the season thereafter. But
it has been in the back of his mind. He has immediate plans
to visit a doctor July 1.
Since finding out, Fleisher said players, most notably Jim
Colbert and Arnold Palmer, have offered their support.
“I think when a personality or when an athlete has this news,
it becomes news,” said Fleisher. “As far as thinking about
it, no, no. I’m thinking the best, you know. And the attitude
certainly is going to get me through this week.”
Through the years Fleisher has had his share of ups and downs.
None like his recent scare, however. But it’s those valleys
in his life that has given him strength to move forward.
In 1985, when on the PGA Tour, he lost confidence in his
game. His career tumbled. He packed his bag away and soon
became a course pro in Florida. A few years later he gave
the Tour another try. He won his only event on the Tour in
1991, his first attempt back. As he approached his 50th
birthday, though, Fleisher went through a renaissance of sorts.
He saw a sports psychologist who helped him overcome self-doubt.
He had, after 408 events on the PGA Tour, cast aside fleeting
feelings.
He was ready for the Senior Tour.
Since joining, in 1999, he has won 14 tournaments. He ended
2001 with 11 top ten finishes in his last 15 events. This
year has been a season of inconsistency. At the Royal Caribbean
Classic in early February, the Senior Tour’s second event,
he placed second. Then out of the next seven tournaments,
he posted no better than 13th in four of them.
At the Countrywide Tradition in April, the Senior Tour’s
version of The Masters, he began to roll. Fleisher has recorded
seven consecutive top-10s since.
“Bruce has been struggling a little bit this year, but the
last two or three tournaments his game is starting to show
sparks,” said Jim Thorpe. “And he is the defending [Senior
Open] champion.”
Last year Fleisher joined a holier-than-thou group in the
record books. Only he, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer can
ever boast of winning a U.S. Amateur and Senior Open. It’s
the sort of thing that makes Fleisher blush.
As talk turned toward defending his title, Fleisher tried
deflecting the attention. One would think someone who needed
33 years to bookend USGA championships would be eager to say,
‘I’m the guy to beat.’
Not Fleisher.
“I played in a 1969 Masters and didn’t get back to Augusta
until 1992,” said Fleisher. “So I’m a late bloomer. I’m one
of these orchids that bloom late, versus a rose that kind
of dies early.
“I’m enjoying the ride; it’s been a wonderful three-and-a-half
years. … I’ve got to pinch myself to make sure I’m still around.
To be in the record books with Palmer and Nicklaus, it’s kind
of neat. I still don’t believe it, to be quite honest with
you.
“I don’t even know that I deserve it, other than the fact
that I’m at the right place at the right time.”
If he plays well this week at Caves Valley, maybe he won’t
have to go another 33 years between USGA titles.
Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him at kklavon@usga.org.
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