Columnist Peter Benton: Fleisher deserves recognition

Peter Benton

Friday, Nov. 26, 1999 | 9:46 a.m.

Peter Benton's golf column appears weekly.

Bruce Fleisher enjoyed a Senior PGA Tour rookie year to be remembered in 1999.

The 51-year-old Fleisher tied the Senior Tour record for victories by a first-year player with seven. He became the first rookie since Lee Trevino in 1990 to lead the money list, setting the pace with earnings of $2,515,705 and thus capturing his first Arnold Palmer Award.

He also won the Byron Nelson Award as scoring leader, averaging 69.19 per round to 69.58 for runner-up Hale Irwin. Plus, he captured the Cadillac Series with 1,567,147 points to the 1,383,814 for Allen Doyle, who was second. Fleisher also led in putting average (1.728) and birdie average (4.25).

Other first-time leaders were Hubert Green in driving accuracy (80.8 percent), Bob Eastwood in sand saves percentage (58.4), Gary McCord in eagles (one every 106 holes) and John Mahaffey, who set a greens-in-regulation record with a percentage of 77, topping Lee Trevino's 76.7 in 1990.

Repeat winners were John Jacobs, who earned his third consecutive driving distance title with an average of 263.7 yards; and Gil Morgan, who led the all-around category for the third year in a row with 103 points. Morgan also led in total driving (30) points for the second consecutive year.

Fleisher joined Jim Thorpe and Victor Regalado to help the Las Vegas Senior Classic by TruGreen-ChemLawn win the MasterCard Senior PGA Charity Team Competition. (The $50,000 won here will go to selected charities of the Las Vegas Founders Club.)

Yet to come are winners of the Jack Nicklaus Senior PGA Tour Player of the Year Award, Senior Tour Rookie of the Year Award and Comeback Player Award.

My pick for the first two awards is Fleisher. I would select Christy O'Connor for the latter.

* BULLARD AILING: Local teaching professional Jim Bullard, who seems to have been around town for eons, is struggling with serious health problems, a result of complications from surgery some months ago.

To assist this popular fellow with his ever-increasing medical bills, a charity golf tournament is being held on Monday, Dec. 20 at the Canyon Gate Country Club.

The entry fee is $175 per player and $30 for juniors. Further information is available by calling 363-8331 or 382-7322.

* PEBBLE BEACH BONANZA: The purse for next year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am has been increased to a whopping $4 million, placing the purse among the highest offered on the PGA Tour. The winner will be awarded $720,000.

The 2000 AT&T Pro-Am will be played Jan. 31-Feb. 6.

* SUPER SENIOR: Tom Shaw, who won $276,836 on the Senior PGA Tour this year, realized earnings of $315,387 to lead the 1999 Georgia-Pacific Super Senior money list.

Jim Dent earned $715,035 on the official money list and picked up another $302,750 in the season-long competition for Senior PGA Tour players 60 and older.