U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 1, 2001

Bruce Fleisher

BRUCE FLEISHER: Thank you. (Applause.)

BRUCE FLEISHER: Describe my feelings. Wow, obviously, guys, it's been a long time coming. Started out this morning not really knowing what to expect. I was a little flustered finishing up earlier today. In fact, I had gone back to the room after I bogeyed 18. And I was really not very happy. But Wendy as she does all the time uses her womanly psychology on me and talked to me. I ran into Gary Player before the round. He says, Bruce, this is your day, this is your time, you can take this thing. All you've got to do is focus, believe in yourself. You've had a wonderful year already. There's really no reason why you can't pull this off. Again the golf course, guys, is so difficult. As you see par won it. I really didn't have a target score today except for the fact that looking on the board, no one really wanted to take control. I think 2-under was probably as low as it got all week, wasn't it?

BRUCE FLEISHER: I'm talking about the overall.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I'm talking about the overall.

BRUCE FLEISHER: My emotions, guys, exuberance, lightheaded. I know last year was disappointing, but I got beat by certainly a better player. I was fortunate enough to play with Hale again today. I felt that he really may be the guy to beat. He started off with a birdie on 1. I'm saying to myself, oh, my gosh, here we go again. And he seems to rise to the occasion. But he didn't. And then of course teeing off with Jack and Raymond Floyd, you know, at the beginning of the week was certainly a high. For the last couple of years for such an important event to tee off with those guys. I thought it was important to set certainly my precedence. And I was able to pull it off Thursday and Friday. I was very happy with the way I played yesterday with Isao who played extremely well. Of course golf is a funny game. I don't have to tell you guys. You do it every week. To have four guys at even par with two holes left and one guy to hang on doesn't really surprise me because of the difficulty that this golf course gives you. So be it, I did it. I'm excited. And I'm glad it's over. I did not want to go back out tomorrow for four holes. Not that I was pulling against anybody, but I feel for Jim Colbert. He played beautifully it looks like. Isao played great. Morgan played great. Jack played good. But I was the one to prevail.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Absolutely. It started on number 2. I hit a pretty good tee shot. I think I had about 215 to the wind. The pin was cut front right. I hit a cut 5-wood up there to about 4 feet. God, it was a beautiful thing. Anyway, I shook that in. And then on 3 I hit a 9-iron right below the hole. I had about a 12-footer right straight uphill. So I birdied that. I bogeyed 5. It was funny, this week I didn't have the right clubs in my bag. I needed a 2-iron quite a few times, which I didn't have. But I was able to go around it, try to play around it. The 5th hole got me. I picked 3-iron which I knew I couldn't get back to the hole. I was able to get up and down. Then I came back with a birdie on 6. I made about a 15-footer there. From there on, guys, I had 12 straight pars. Never really got into trouble. I think I hit every green with the exception 6 and 17. I hit a driver, 5-wood right in front. I was able to chip it up about 4 feet, maybe it was 5 feet. The putt on 17 was certainly pivotal, if that's the right pronunciation. I thought 15 was extremely important to make par there. Probably the toughest hole on the golf course under the conditions that we had. Kind of emotional. Maybe it wasn't that pretty, but very effective.

BRUCE FLEISHER: It's funny, Steve, huh? Gosh, I've got to tell you something. I know nothing is off the record with you guys. I've learned that. I've learned that. But this golf course in my mind's eye is so difficult. Last year Hale was what, 17 under. This year even par. I was not having fun. Even though I tried to smile out there from time to time and tried to enjoy the moment, if I tell you what I told my wife early before I teed off, you wouldn't believe it. So I'm going to leave that alone. Last year was last year. This year is another year. I got my chance. I was able to hang in there. I feel very fortunate that Colbert and Morgan bogeyed the last hole, whatever. Isao I guess bogeyed 17. Entirely different situation.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I think if you reminisced a couple of weeks ago to the U.S. Open and you saw what happened on 18, I know and I'm smart enough to know and I've played this game long enough as all of us have that it ain't over until it's over. Even par, like I said, Gary Player said, Bruce, post a number and sit on it. I was apprehensive. I think at the time Colbert was 1-under. Gosh, I guess -- did he bogey 17, too?

BRUCE FLEISHER: He bogeyed 16, okay. You know what? I did not want to have to go back out and play tomorrow. Mentally I was tired. I'm not pulling against anyone. I don't think anyone is out there -- you hate to see a finish like that, but, you know what, I prevailed. I feel very fortunate, very lucky. The feeling afterwards, I can use all the words, anxiety, anxious, numb. When Jim certainly hit his third shot, there was an amount of relief. And it's not Rolaids.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I've said it all along that I've come along and I don't know the reason why. Wendy and I were discussing it the other day. We've had so many ups and downs in our lives. The SENIOR TOUR is certainly something that's come along that has -- it came along at a time certainly in my life to give me a second chance. I don't know how important the U.S. Senior Open is. It's certainly going to be a beautiful trove toy have and the memories that I can talk to my great grandchildren hopefully some day. But I did it. It's a wonderful feeling. And I'm sure in a week's time when I tee it up again, it's going to be a whole brand new week. 2001, at this moment in time is my -- both Wendy and myself are extremely, extremely happy. I may not look it, but believe me I'm smiling and crying inside at the same time.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Is that in the record books? Obviously it does. I just heard that now, folks. I won the Amateur in '68, and I was the third youngest ever to before Tiger came along and knocked us all away. That was a long time ago. I vaguely remember it. I had lots of hair back then. And I hit the ball a lot longer than I do now. It's 33 years passing. I probably won't sleep tonight or tomorrow night. I will come off this high shortly. 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.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Absolutely. We had about a 20-minute wait on 15, and he had just left -- there was a big scream, and anyway, they were walking over. Playing with Jack the first two days, he was terrific, I thought. He had just missed an eagle by so much. I smiled at him and he smiled, patted me on the back. At that time I think he got back to even for the tournament. He's a great champion. He's a great player, somebody that I've admired my whole life. So given a chance to play with Jack and seeing him play as well as he did, it would have been great to see him win.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I would hope he would. I know he hugged Wendy and Barbara hugged Wendy. They were very proud and very congratulative. Yeah, I think it does. Absolutely. Absolutely.

BRUCE FLEISHER: No. Come here and pinch me, Dick. Come on, buddy. Guys, I got to tell you something. I didn't hit the ball that well. It's not my A game, B game, C game. I don't know what game it was. I kept it in front of me. That's what U.S. Open golf is all about. I can remember back and relate back to -- I don't remember what year, but it was -- I think it was Inverness when Hale won it. What year was that?

BRUCE FLEISHER: '79. I remember him saying he was just trying to get the club on the ball and kind of fan it out there left-to-right. That's really what I did all week. I kept the ball in play. The course with the exception of two holes that played extremely long, 2 and 17, length really wasn't a priority. So that certainly kept me in the game. If I looked at my stats, I don't know off the top of my head now, I don't think I missed very -- I missed very few fairways this week.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Well, that's the whole idea.

BRUCE FLEISHER: That's the whole idea.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Absolutely. I believe. I do believe.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I know you believe in me, Air New Zealand.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Well, I'll tell you. I've won a lot of money in this area. Wendy and I also talked about the aura around Massachusetts and Boston and Sutton. Where were we last week, honey? Nashawtuc, and certainly here in Salem. There's some sort of aura here. It's all over the place for me. Maybe I should move up here. There's certainly plenty enough Dunkin Donuts around. I've got to tell you about it. I was there at 5:30 every morning. Then they found out I loved it and they started bringing it to my hotel room the last two mornings. It was great.

BRUCE FLEISHER: The coffee.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I certainly had birdie opportunities, but at that moment in time I didn't want too many 3, 4 footers coming back, not knowing how I would -- whatever. But I know that the opportunities -- I I had about 3 or 4 birdie opportunities that I didn't handle. But that's okay. Obviously I knew that par was a good score.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Yeah.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Well, you know, 18 again, I've got to tell you to be honest with you. I hit the wrong club three days in a row on 18. I drove the ball -- I think the first two days I drove it in the fairway and still made bogeys. Yesterday I think I was in the first cut and made bogey with a pretty good lie. It was a pretty relatively easy shot even though the wind was picking up. I drove it to perfect position. I was level at about 150 yards. The bogey really never entered my mind, no. I just wanted to make sure, Dennis, I want enough club to get me to the hole.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I had about an 18-footer, I guess. It looked like about a 100--footer because it was straight downhill.

BRUCE FLEISHER: About three and a half feet, yeah. Shook it in. I wasn't try trying to hit it three feet by it. I'll tell you that.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I had heard that -- yeah. I guess I heard Colbert was 1-under, went to even. Parred 17, Aoki bogeyed 17 to go to 1-over. Morgan was even. And I guess Colbert were even going into 18. And I saw Morgan -- I guess he drove it in the rough and he knocked it over. Did he knock it over?

BRUCE FLEISHER: Yeah.

BRUCE FLEISHER: It's miserable. All this rough is tough. That's why the scores were the way they were. The rough is as tough as it gets any U.S. Open I've ever played in.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I'm not playing at that Bethpage next year.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I don't know. We'll talk about that.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I've got to pump some iron. They've got that golf course 7600 yards.

BRUCE FLEISHER: All right, honey. Maybe we'll go. These young kids.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I think it was Shinnecock. I played pretty good, too. Raymond won that year. I think I finished like 45th.

BRUCE FLEISHER: My chances were pretty good. I liked the golf course during the practice rounds. I think the practice rounds played so totally different. Played a lot shorter, played a lot shorter than the actual tournament. The golf course again length wise was right up my alley. And I knew if I could drive it in the fairway I was going to be effective.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Because I deal with demons that all golfers deal with and it's called yourself image. I've said it over and over again. This is the one thing that keeps me from believing as Richard tells me. I let a lot of stuff effect me. Maybe not so much in a positive or negative way but in a way that it probably doesn't help me. And those things I have to overcome. Those are the demons that I'm sure all golfers have to put up with, have to deal with. And it's just the way I think of myself and what I think I should be doing versus what the public thinks you should be doing. The golf course to me was just so difficult, so frustrating.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I don't know if pride is the right word. I'm just elated. I'm just glad it's over.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I think I'll take away that I start believing in myself. There's nothing like winning obviously. It just shows you that you don't have to hit it perfect. Golf is not a game of perfect as Bob Rotella states. And I certainly didn't hit it perfect, but I kept the ball in front of me. And that was effective.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Absolutely not. I won a lot of money last year. What did we win last year, 2 something? I've got to tell you what. The admiration I have for guys like a Hale Irwin, I can go on and on and on, Raymond Floyd, Jack Nicklaus, who have done this over and over again. I can't begin to tell you how much I admire these guys and how difficult it is to do what I guess I did today. I still probably don't believe it. Maybe a couple of hours from now I'll believe it, understand it. But it is so hard, and that's why they call it the U.S. Open, Senior U.S. Open. They make it hard. There's a reason for it. To win it more than once, -- to win it once is great. I'd like to do it again.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Absolutely.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Well, I thought if someone birdied 18, they deserved the golf tournament if they were in position. If someone birdies 18, you deserve it. I thought all along someone would finish up even, and it would be a playoff. Absolutely. I'm glad it didn't happen. I've got to be honest with you, I didn't want to go back out.

BRUCE FLEISHER: My wife is probably my sports psychologist. At one time I did. I visited Bob Rotella, Greg Soukowski (Phonetic) in the early '90s. After about the 5th time his voice started to whatever. I don't know if I'll ever get over the insecurity that one may have. I just know that I'm enjoying my time now. I've been given a second chance out here. Hopefully I can grow as a person, touch people's lives, give back because that's really what it's all about, giving back. And go forward from here. Whether I play best page or not, I don't know.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I think probably the USGA could answer that probably better than I did. Last year the guys were not happy at Saucon Valley. Hale blistered it at 17 under. I don't remember. Other than the fact that he played incredible golf. The good golf course was still a hard golf course.

BRUCE FLEISHER: I remember it rained. The greens didn't hold the rains pretty well. I think these guys, they had something up their sleeve. They wanted to make it as difficult as they could. And they did. They did. In fact, I forget the gentleman's name, but the head guy predicted 1-over would win this tournament. They knew something I didn't. I don't remember your question you asked me.

BRUCE FLEISHER: It's lived up to its literature, I guess. To its history. He certainly built something umpteen years ago that still stands today. It just goes to show you that 6700 yards is long, can be very long. It's a great golf course. I say great golf course, I'm not quite sure if I'm really capable of really like a Nicklaus or these guys that design golf courses. I'd love to know Nicklaus' view on how great he thinks this golf course is because he talked about the greens being, what word did he use.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Yeah. Is that good? I don't know, is that a negative.

BRUCE FLEISHER: So it must be good. you know his golf courses.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Yes.

BRUCE FLEISHER: Turning point for what?

BRUCE FLEISHER: It's nice to get that one major obviously. Absolutely. The sky's the limit. Let me go for it. Why not? Piss off all those other players out there.

BRUCE FLEISHER: They won't see me next week either. Thank you.