FAMILY FOCUS STEADIES LIETZKE'S GAME GOLF IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT FOR DEFENDING CHAMP.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer Bruce Lietzke Bruce Alan Lietzke (born July 18, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level. Lietzke was born in Kansas City [1]. hasn't practiced golf for 21 years. He prefers spending time "Spending Time" is the first single released by Christian artist Stellar Kart. The lyrics describe the band members desire to spend "more time with God". "Sometimes it’s a real struggle to spend time with God. with his family, fishing or tinkering with his collection of muscle cars. He even started this year with a golf-threatening medical condition known as a ``frozen shoulder.'' But when the U.S. Senior Open begins Thursday at Bellerive Country Club Bellerive Country Club is a golf country club located in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. History The club originally opened in 1897, and it was first called The Field Club. It was founded by several St. in St. Louis, there will be few hotter golfers than Lietzke. Not only is he the defending champion defending champion n (SPORT) → defensor/a m/f del título defending champion n (Sport) → champion(ne) en titre - and with a well-thawed frozen shoulder - he might also be one of the game's most successful part-time golfers since Bobby Jones won the Grand Slam grand slam n. 1. The winning of all the tricks during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games. 2. Sports The winning of all the major or specified events, especially on a professional circuit. as an amateur in 1930 and then retired at age 30. Lietzke has been taking his retirement in installments since his first child was born in 1983, the last time the 53-year-old former University of Houston standout practiced. Despite that, he has won a combined 20 times in the past 27 years on the PGA Tour The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the USA's main professional golf tours. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR". or Champions Tour while never playing more than 25 tour events in any single year. It's all about keeping a balance for Lietzke. ``How I'm remembered as a golfer is not terribly important,'' he said after winning five times in his first two years on the senior tour. ``I'd rather be remembered as a father and a husband.'' Then he went out and pretty much ensured he'd be remembered for both, defeating the hottest golfer on the 2003 Champions Tour - eventual Player of the Year Tom Watson - in a final-round showdown at last year's U.S. Senior Open. Lietzke finished that tournament at Inverness Club Inverness Club is a country club in Toledo, Ohio that is famous for its golf course (and also has an Olympic-sized pool and several tennis courts). The golf course is so well known since it has hosted four U.S. Opens, a U.S. Amateur Championship, a U.S. in Toledo, Ohio
Lietzke hit just 12 fairways combined in his final two rounds of that 2003 championship. But he turned a seven-fairway third round into a 64 - equaling the best score of the tournament - then finished bogey-bogey in a final-round 71 to hold off Watson by two strokes. ``He was leaking a lot of oil, smoking,'' Watson said. ``But it still worked.'' It's been working this way for more than two decades for Lietzke, whose priorities changed dramatically with the birth of his son, Stephen, in 1983. ``I knew a long time ago that I wanted to be a very active father,'' said Lietzke, whose daughter, Christine, was born in 1985. Time with them and wife Roseanne have taken him away from the tour so much that a columnist once wrote the best way to hide out from Lietzke was to get in the closet with his golf bag. In another often-retold tale, Lietzke's caddie once put a banana under Lietzke's driver head cover at the end of a tour season, knowing his boss couldn't possibly mean he wouldn't practice at all. When the next tour season started, the caddie found the banana - blackened black·en v. black·ened, black·en·ing, black·ens v.tr. 1. To make black. 2. To sully or defame: a scandal that blackened the mayor's name. 3. and unmoved un·moved adj. Emotionally unaffected. unmoved Adjective not affected by emotion; indifferent Adj. 1. . Lietzke's commitment to his family mirrored a similar approach by his idol, Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus Noun 1. Jack Nicklaus - United States golfer considered by many to be the greatest golfer of all time (born in 1940) Jack William Nicklaus, Nicklaus . ``He told me that it kept him mentally fresh,'' Lietzke said. ``His golf game didn't change, he didn't practice much at home, so there were similarities.'' Thanks to Lietzke's perseverance in the 2003 U.S. Senior Open, he and Nicklaus share another similarity - as past winners of U.S. Golf Association championships. Lietzke has just the one to eight by Nicklaus (two U.S. Amateurs, two U.S. Senior Opens, four U.S. Opens). And although Nicklaus is not playing this week, Lietzke will be facing one of the year's strongest Champions Tour fields in his bid to become the first to win consecutive U.S. Senior Open titles since Gary Player Gary Player (born November 1, 1935) is a South African professional golfer generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. in 1987 and '88. Topping the competition is Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American golfer. He is the uncle of Heath Irwin. Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967, where he was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back, as well as an academic All-American in , the senior superstar who won three U.S. Opens on the PGA Tour and two U.S. Senior Opens. Watson also is in the field at par-71 Bellerive, which, at 7,117 yards, is the longest course in the history of the U.S. Senior Open. ``This is a golf course that doesn't favor anybody, and that's what you want in a championship,'' Lietzke said. ``But I have a list of two guys (Irwin and Watson) who probably will have an advantage. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.'' But don't count Lietzke out. He has proven he can win as a part-time pro. And if he doesn't, well ... ``Golf is still the same priority as it was,'' he said after his 7-under-par 277 to win last year's U.S. Senior Open. ``There's nothing wrong with being a father and good husband and winning a couple of golf tournaments every now and then.'' Dave Shelburne, (818) 713-3609 dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Bruce Lietzke hoisted the U.S. Senior Open trophy last year after his two-stroke win over Tom Watson. Ron Schwane/Associated Press (2) Bruce Lietzke celebrated after sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the U.S. Senior Open last year. Mark Duncan/Associated Press |
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