The rewards of rest

It would come as something of a shock to tournament observers if Bruce Lietzke were found to be overdoing things, since he turned 50 last month. But a share of second place in the Novell Utah Showdown last weekend, has already brought his seniors' earnings to $405,829..

Lietzke will be recalled as the gifted practitioner who was known to miss major championships so as not to push his playing schedule beyond about 18 tournaments per year. Many thought it was because he preferred fishing, but the truth was somewhat different.

As he explained: "I decided a long time ago that I wanted to be a very active father." And with the support of his wife Rosemarie, the indications are that their 17-year-old son Stephen and 15-year-old daughter Christine are now grateful for his decision.

Mind you, he still managed 13 victories and career earnings of $6.5million on the US regular tour. And Des Smyth will remember him as a formidable opponent who, as a member of that stunning US Ryder Cup team of 1981, teamed with his good friend Bill Rogers for a fourball win over the Drogheda man and Jose Maria Canizares on the opening day.

One of the more interesting of Lietzke's legendary breaks from golf concerned the occasion when, at the end of the 1985 season, he told a caddie who had been with him only a few months, that he wouldn't be playing again until the Bob Hope Classic, the following spring.

Not believing that a tournament player could leave the clubs alone for so long, the caddie took a whole banana, stuck it in the headcover of Lietzke's driver and slipped it back on. Ten weeks later, after the bag had been in the player's garage all winter, it was pulled out of the boot of his car at Bermuda Dunes for a practice round.

As Lietzke recalled: "After unzipping the bag he got the smell and went to it; he knew exactly what it was. He took the headcover off and there was this nasty-looking remains of a banana. When he explained he felt sure I would hit some balls, I told him never to doubt me again. We had to throw the bag away and have another one sent to Palm Springs."