By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

Then

Now

Then (1983)

By 1983, Bruce Lietzke had already won nine events. A standout at the University of Houston from 1970-73, he earned his first PGA TOUR victory at the 1977 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open, a tournament he would win again in 1979. In fact, Lietzke had a knack for repeats, winning four tournaments twice while on TOUR, including the Bank of America Colonial (1980, 1992), the EDS Byron Nelson Championship (1981, 1988) and the Canadian Open (1978, 1982). Lietzke’s best year on TOUR came in 1981, when he notched three TOUR victories on his way to finishing fourth on the money list.

Fun facts from 1983:

Academy Award, Best Picture: Terms of Endearment

Notable film releases: Return of the Jedi, Tootsie, Trading Places, Flashdance, The Big Chill, A Christmas Story

Born in 1983: Kevin Na, Michael Putnam, Steven Bowditch, Natalie Gulbis, Kate Bosworth, Nicky Hilton, Carrie Underwood

Died in 1983: Tennessee Williams, Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Jack Dempsey, Karen Carpenter

President: Ronald Reagan

1983 Masters Tournament winner: Seve Ballesteros

1983 U.S. Open champion: Larry Nelson

1983 British Open Champion: Tom Watson

1983 PGA Championship winner: Hal Sutton

Now (2006)

The seven-time winner on the Champions Tour had another successful season in 2006, finishing 26th on the money list. Although he didn’t win, he had five top-10 performances in the second part of the year that propelled him into the top 30 on the money list to earn a berth in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, where he tied for 11th. The Dallas resident’s best finish of the season came at the Administaff Small Business Classic where he shared second. In his spare time, Lietzke indulges his passion for collecting cars, as he has an 11-car garage at his home and considers his 1967 yellow Corvette Stingray convertible the prize of his collection. Appropriately, Lietzke is also a huge fan of auto and drag racing and says his dream job would be to serve as an engine builder for a race team.

Lietzke, on fashion in the early part of his career:

“I have never had a taste for fashion, but I chuckled back in the late ‘70s when one of the major golf magazines did a fashion survey and I was voted among the top five best dressers on the PGA TOUR. I remember either John Schroeder or Tom Weiskopf were voted the best but I was voted ahead of Lanny Wadkins, who always had the beautifully tailored, expensive slacks. I was out there wearing polyester with wild colors and geometric patterns. I’m amazed I wore whatever the manufacturers sent me. Lanny used to make fun of my pants but I let him have it after the poll came out. The pants I wore when I won my first tournament, the 1977 Tucson Open, were ugly.”