Senior Open Champs

Bruce Fleisher, 2001 (Salem C.C., Peabody, Mass.)

What he's been doing lately: Fleisher’s hard-fought one-stroke victory in the 2001 Senior Open solidified his position as one of the dominant golfers on the Senior Tour.  Since joining the Tour in 1999, Fleisher has racked up an incredible 14 victories. This season, Bruce Fleisher is 4^th on the money list for the Senior Tour.  He has finished in the top 25 of all 16 events he’s played in.  Victory has eluded Fleisher so far this year, but he has come tantalizingly close, with second-place finishes at the Royal Caribbean Classic, NFL Golf Classic and the Bell South Classic.

He did take some heat from Hale Irwin and Tom Kite for withdrawing from the U.S. Open, which he was exempt to play in because of his Senior Open victory. Fleisher, though, believes he made the right decision after a medical procedure during the BellSouth Senior Classic, played concurrently with the U.S. Open,  revealed higher than normal prostate specific antigen (PSA) numbers. It was an indicator that cancer cells could be present in his prostate. ''If I had not have come here and had the exam, I probably would not have done it until next year and who knows what would have happened?'' Fleisher told The Tennessean.

Last Senior Tour victory: 2001 Senior Open
Last year’s Senior Open finish: With his victory in the 2001 Open, the former U.S. Amateur winner (1968) set a new record for the longest span between USGA championships at 33 years.  With these victories, Fleisher joined Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only players to win both a Senior Open and the US Amateur.

Hale Irwin, 2000 & 1998 (Saucon Valley C.C. (Old Course), Bethlehem, Pa., in 2000; Riviera C.C., Palisades, Calif., 1998)

What he's been doing lately: This year Hale Irwin, winner of the 1998 and 2000 Senior Opens, will be looking to tie Miller Barber for the record of most U.S. Senior Open victories.  No question, Hale Irwin will be tough competition at CavesValley The Senior Tour’s all-time money leader is having another stunning year in 2002, currently ranking first in Cup points and perched atop the money list.

Irwin’s 2002 season started off inconspicuously with a tie for 24^th place at the Mastercard championship.  Since then, he has not finished lower than sixth place in any senior tournament, and has notched two first-place and three second-place finishes (one of those second place finishes being the Senior PGA Championship, which he lost to Fuzzy Zoeller by two strokes).  In January Irwin claimed his third consecutive Senior Skins title, beating out Zoeller, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.  He is coming off a undesirable results at the U.S. Open, in which he did not make the cut.

Last Senior Tour victory: 2002 Toshiba Senior Classic
Last year’s Senior Open finish:  Irwin finished five strokes behind Fleisher and shot a 285 for the championship, finishing tied for 11^th. 

Dave Eichelberger, 1999 (Des Moines Golf & C.C., W. Des Moines, Iowa)

What he's been doing lately: Eichelberger notched a victory on the Senior Tour this year at the Emerald Coast Classic by shooting a pair of 65’s in the first and second round.  This was his first Senior Tour victory since his Open-winning 1999 season.  The first round of the tournament also provided another career milestone for Eichelberger - his first hole-in-one on the Senior Tour, made by holing a seven-iron shot from 190 yards off the eighth tee. 

The $217,500 prize for the Emerald Coast Classic victory comprises almost half of Eichelberger’s winnings so far this year, and helped move him up to 19^th on the money list.  In addition to his win at the Emerald Coast Classic, he also shot seven-under-par at the NFL Golf Classic to finish tied with Bruce Fleisher for second place.

Last Senior Tour victory: 2002 Emerald Coast Classic
Last year’s Senior Open finish: Eichelberger shot a 295 and finished tied for 44^th place at 15 over par.

Graham Marsh, 1997 (Olympia Fields C.C., Ill.)

What he's been doing lately: Since winning the 1997 Senior Open, the Kalgoorlie, Australia native nicknamed “Swampy” by his peers has had more victories abroad than on the American Senior Tour.  Marsh has had only one Senior Tour victory since 1997, (at the Tradition in 1999) but has continued to dominate abroad, taking both the 1998 and 1999 Japan Senior Open titles.

Still, “Swampy” continues to be in the hunt on the Senior Tour, notching 6 top-10 finishes in 2001.  For the 2002 season, Marsh is 45^th on the money list.  His best finish this year was a tie for ninth place at the Audi Senior Classic.

Last Senior Tour victory: 1999 Countryside Tradition
Last year’s Senior Open finish: Marsh finished tied for 40th at 14 over par.