Bruce Fleisher

Fleisher, who needed to finish six holes from the third round on Sunday morning and bogeyed the 18th for a 2-over-par 72, made his move quickly in the final round by making birdies on holes No. 2 and 3.  He bogeyed the 5th and birdied the 6th to settle into his eventual winning position at even par.

The winner of the 1968 U.S. Amateur, he is joined by Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the only players to win both a Senior Open and an Amateur title.

Fleisher’s 33 years between USGA championships is a record. Marlene Streit (1956 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1985 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur) had held the mark at 29 years.

“I will come off this high shortly,” he said of winning his second USGA title. “It’s something that I will remember for a long time. I won on a very difficult golf course playing with the best the game has got to offer in years past. It’s something to be very proud of.”

The runner-up at the 2000 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., Fleisher becomes the third to win the next year, joining Gary Player (1987) and Nicklaus (1991).

Fleisher was the only golfer to break par the first day, as he held the lead after Thursday’s round with a 69. Aoki edged past him heading into the weekend, with a 1-under total of 139 for 36 holes. He slipped to even par before Saturday’s rain delay, but birdied two of his remaining five holes in completing his third round on Sunday morning to regain the third-round lead with at 2-under.

Defending champion Hale Irwin birdied the tough 18th hole two of the first three days to stay in contention at 2-over-par through 54 holes.

Jim Thorpe rebounded after an opening 77 to post one of the week’s best efforts, a 5-under 65 on Friday. And, Tom Kite had a strange 40-30-70 round on Friday that kept him in contention for the weekend. Five-time USGA champion Jay Sigel made a dramatic move on Saturday morning with a Championship-best 6-under par 64 to earn a top 10 spot through 54 holes.

The third round was resumed at 6:57 a.m. on Sunday because a violent thunder and lightning storm rolled through Boston’s North Shore on Saturday and left 14 players with uncompleted rounds. Following completion of the third round at 7:57 a.m. Sunday, the final round began at 9:15 a.m. with players starting on the No.1 and No.10 tees, in groups of three, to finish ahead of another stretch of predicted bad weather. The Sunday storm did not arrive until Fleisher was conducting his post-round news conference.