Fleisher Out To Prove He’s Not A ‘Baby’

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Baltimore, Md. – Bruce Fleisher was at a boiling point.

It was the final day at last year’s Senior Open at Salem Country Club when it all nearly came crashing down.

Finishing up four uncompleted holes because of a vicious storm the evening before, Fleisher harrumphed his way back to his hotel and sulked. It didn’t have anything to do with having to play 18 more holes later that day. He knew he could rest before starting the last round. No, three bogeys on those four holes placed him four strokes off the lead, and spiraling into a fragile state of mind.

“I got back to the room and I complained to Wendy [his wife],” said Fleisher. “I said, ‘I’m never playing in another USGA event. They made the course too hard.’

What did Wendy do? She said, ‘Grow up you baby.’ And she was right.”

The unsympathetic words rejuvenated Fleisher before he clawed back to win his first Senior Open title. The victory put him in select company, joining icons Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only golfers in history to win a U.S. Amateur and U.S. Senior Open. [Fleisher won the 1968 U.S. Amateur].

He learned two lessons with Wendy’s tongue lashing: One, difficult course setups -- courtesy of the USGA – are as commonplace as monsoons in Bombay and, two, every other competitor had to play the same course that he did.

“The Open is a different animal,” said Fleisher. “It should be different, it should be hard. You just have to deal with it. You have to overcome that. Be a man about it.”

So it came as no surprise at Senior Open Media Day that Tom Meeks, USGA Senior Director of Rules and Competitions, announced that come June 27 Caves Valley Golf Club will: play long (7,005 yards, par 71); narrow (example: the third hole fairway is approximately 28 yards in width); fast (green speed will be set up to register 12 on the stimpmeter); and perhaps unforgiving if you don’t stay on the fairway (primary rough will be no shorter than 4 inches).

Fleisher, who spoke last, sat emotionless as Meeks went on. Finally, prior to entertaining questions, Fleisher unleashed that infectious smile of his. “I think they [USGA officials] smile at night. They don’t have any trouble sleeping,” said Fleisher.

Since winning the Senior Open, Fleisher has gone through a dry spell. Not a drop-off-the-charts type of dry spell, but one in which he hasn’t won a tournament. He ended 2001 with 11 top ten finishes in his last 15 events. This year he’s got five [through April 7], coming close to a victory at the Royal Caribbean Classic in early February when he placed second.

Winning the Senior Open last year was special because he had lost a heartbreaker to Hale Irwin the year before at Saucon Valley Country Club. After that, Fleisher questioned himself. He wondered whether a major would ever be in the cards.

It really wasn’t until a week before the Senior Open at Salem that he regained confidence. Lee Trevino watched Fleisher drive the ball during the FleetBoston Classic and became convinced that he would win the following week – on a couple of conditions.

“He told me to ‘lock yourself in your room because people gravitate toward you. They like you.’ And to just go out in the middle of the day and play the course because no one would bother me,” said Fleisher.

And Fleisher did both. It was difficult to be a hermit, yet satisfying to be able to concentrate on his game.

“You know what? I went out at 2 p.m. during a practice round and played 18. I wasn’t bothered on one shot,” said Fleisher.

Who knows, he may follow the same regimen this year. After all, when you find a magic formula 33 years after your last championship, odds are you stick with it.