Bruce Fleisher will be competing in the AIB Irish Seniors Open, starting at Tulfarris on Friday, as the winner of three tournaments in the US so far this year. With a birdie on the third play-off hole, he beat fellow American Hubert Green to retain the Home Depot Invitational title in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday.
As the only player on the US Seniors' Tour to win more than once this year, Fleisher's cheque for $195,000 brought him within $17,000 of the $1 million mark, after 12 events. And on that sort of form, he is certain to start favourite for yet another victory, at the Blessington venue.
By his own admission, Fleisher never wanted to become the man to beat, but he would now appear to have little choice in the matter after his 10th victory in 44 tournaments in senior ranks. "People expect a lot and I never wanted that," he said. "I never imagined I could do something like this."
After Sunday's victory, he went to the town of Cochran, Georgia, yesterday on a rather special mission. Though he spent only nine months there back in 1965, he is now treated as one of the town's most famous people. And to prove it, they held a parade for him.
Last season, Fleisher won seven times as a seniors' rookie, earning $2,515,705. But he changed his grip six weeks ago and in six tournaments since then, he has broken 70 on 11 occasions in 19 rounds.
"I've never had the time and money to tinker with my swing, until now," he went on. "I don't think the grip-change is a real big adjustment. It's a matter of the body and mind coming together. I used to grip it very weak which caused a lot of spin on the ball. Now, since strengthening it, I've picked up a lot of yardage."
Christy O'Connor Jnr, another leading challenger at Tulfarris, was tied 33rd behind Fleisher after rounds of 69, 72 and 74 for a one-under-par aggregate of 215. It earned him $7,703 but with winnings of $132,777 from 11 tournaments, O'Connor is 45th in the money list and only the leading 31 will retain their cards at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, those who might have questioned the appeal of tournament golf's so-called comfort zone, got their answer on the USPGA Tour over the last two weekends. Only committed sadists could have taken much pleasure from the sight of Craig Stadler and Blaine McCallister crumbling disastrously under competitive pressure.
As it happened, both were involved in sudden-death. For Stadler, it meant defeat by Robert Allenby in the Houston Open on April 30th and McCallister met the same fate in a play-off against Carlos Franco for the New Orleans Open at English Turn last Sunday.
Predictably, the losers' problems centred largely on and around the greens. As a righthanded striker who putts lefthanded, McCallister birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th holes on Sunday to lift himself into contention. But he played a poor bunker escape to bogey the last and allow Franco to force a playoff.
Then in sudden-death, the 41year-old Texan bogeyed the 18th once more, this time with three putts from 30 feet. And at the second play-off hole, he drove into a bunker and was in a greenside trap in two, en route to an embarrassing, double-bogey six.
Richard Coughlan recorded his first top-five finish on the NGA Hooters Tour after a final round 70 in Lewisburg on Sunday. Coughlan, who was 14 under par for the 72 holes, finished in a three-way tie for third, two shots behind winner Chad Campbell.
