"I'll Win By 15 Strokes"
Despite bold prediction, even if it was in jest, Bruce Lietzke needs a birdie at the 72nd hole to capture the Colonial
The Texas swing has already given us some fireworks. When Lanny Wadkins redesigned TPC Craig Ranch, he guaranteed that the winning score would be higher than -30. The winning score by Wyndham Clark? He won by three shots with a score of -30.
This week, the Texas swing continues at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, TX, with the Charles Schwab Challenge. This corporately named event is what the Colonial National Invitational Tournament has evolved to. It is a tournament that has been played, at the same course, since 1946. No other non-major event on the PGA TOUR has been played, at the exact same site, than this one, so there’s a lot of history to draw from.
We’re going back to 1980 when Bruce Lietzke opened with a 63 and sarcastically predicted that he would win by 15 strokes. Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw had other ideas. Scroll down to see how the week played out.
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I’ve got my pick in, and if your pick beats him, you win a prize. If your pick wins the tournament, you win an even bigger prize. Get your pick in before the start of the U.S. Open on June 18th. My pick? Scottie Scheffler.
The Tour Backspin Poll
In last week’s Tour Backspin Poll we asked what you thought of the course setup for the PGA Championship at Aronimink. There were 92% of respondents who loved it and thought it was fun to watch. The other 8% hated it thinking it was tricked up.
Bryson DeChambeau admitted to the media on Tuesday that he was surprised by the Public Investment Fund’s withdrawal of financial support for the LIV Golf League.
“We were surprised that they pulled out as quickly as they did,” DeChambeau said. “We didn't really see that coming. But that's OK. One door closes, another opens. I think that's the way a lot of us are looking at it. I think we all have optimism that there is a business plan that makes sense for team golf.
DeChambeau’s contract with the LIV Golf League is up after this year. With that in mind, do you think DeChambeau will ever play again on LIV, or the PGA TOUR? What does the future hold for him? Let us know what you think in this week’s Tour Backspin Poll.
Lietzke’s Fast Finish At The Colonial
As players arrived in Fort Worth, TX, for the Colonial National Invitational Tournament in mid-May 1980, two questions were on all their minds. Would Tom Watson win his fourth tournament in a row, and in the process, win the “Texas Bonanza,” a bonus of $200,000 to any player who could win both tournaments held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area? Having notched the win at the Nelson the week before, could Watson close the deal and win the bonus at Colonial?
The other question concerned the weather. Rain had plagued half the tournaments played before the NIT, and the forecast for the week was certainly not great. The Byron Nelson Golf Classic, held the week before the NIT, required a 36-hole final round on Sunday after rain washed out the first round.
“I could have played today, but I don’t know how well.”
After shooting a consistent 69 in the Wednesday pro-am at Colonial Country Club, Watson visited the range to hit some balls, even though there was driving rain. While hitting balls, he felt a familiar twinge in his neck. It was familiar because it was a recurrence of a three-year-old injury that resulted in a pinched nerve that flared up sporadically. Watson immediately sought out Ross Bailey, the athletic department trainer at Texas Christian University, who was lending his services to the NIT. He woke up on Thursday with his neck feeling better, but not 100% recovered. He planned to get more treatment from Bailey that afternoon after finishing his round, which was scheduled to start at 11:30.
Sure enough, the rain that began on Wednesday continued Thursday. Jack Tuthill, the PGA tournament director, desperately wanted to get the round in and sent off the first groups. By 10:15 am, heavy rain started falling, and 30 minutes later, it was obvious that the round would be washed out. For Watson, it was a welcome reprieve.
“I could have played today, but I don’t know how well,” he said after he heard the news of the postponement. He believed that another day of Bailey’s treatment on his neck was a definite advantage for his chances the rest of the week.
The rainout was the first cancellation of a round due to inclement weather at the National Invitational Tournament since 1965.
“I’ll feel better,” Watson told reporters, including Galyn Wilkins, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But I’m not glad for the tournament. A rainout hurts the crowd, and TV has had a bad time with the weather this year.”
When players arrived on Friday for the rescheduled first round, players were shocked at the course setup. When officials arrived early in the morning, the course was still soggy from the heavy rains that fell on Wednesday and Thursday. There was casual water in the normal landing areas of the fairways, and the back of many of the tees were too wet to use. As a result, they placed the tee markers at the front of the tee boxes. By early afternoon, the course had been dried out under sunny skies, and conditions were perfect for scoring.
“The tees were up so far we didn’t know where we were,” Lee Trevino cracked as he spoke to the press after shooting a 68. He bogeyed both the 17th and 18th holes. “The greens are soft, and the rough is not very tough, and the course must have played only 6,700 yards.”
“My prediction is I’ll win by 15 strokes. Watson and Crenshaw can’t play a lick.”
Colonial Country Club usually measured 7,190 yards and played to a par of 70. That par was blown out of the water on Thursday due to the benign conditions. Bruce Lietzke, aided by a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, cruised home with a 30 on the back nine and a round of 63. Despite the eye-popping low round, it was only good for a two-shot lead over Jeff Mitchell, who went 30-35—65. Despite still feeling discomfort in his neck, Tom Watson’s quest, the “Texas Bonanza,” was on track as he came in with a 35-31—66.
Lietzke backed up his opening round 63 with a 68 in the second round, played on Saturday. He stalked into the pressroom and, with his tongue firmly placed in his cheek, he made a prediction.
“My prediction is I’ll win by 15 strokes,” He proclaimed. “Watson and Crenshaw can’t play a lick.”
After his sarcastic prediction, Lietzke quickly addressed how difficult Sunday’s 36-hole finale would be. In his Saturday round, Lietzke hit all 18 greens and suffered only his second bogey of the tournament when he “carelessly” missed a two-foot putt on his third hole.
“You’re not going to make many bogeys when you do that (hit all 18 greens in regulation),” he said. “If I can play Sunday without a bogey, I think I’ll win no matter how many birdies I make. I think two 70s Sunday will win it.”
“How can you get tired when you know you can win $254,000?”
Lietzke led Ben Crenshaw by two strokes, and Watson by three. Lon Hinkle and Jim Colbert were another stroke back at 135. Crenshaw played himself into contention with a second-round 66, and Watson was keeping his “Texas Bonanza” hopes alive with a 68 on Saturday.
Reporters asked Watson if he was up for a second-straight week featuring a 36-hole final round.
“How can you get tired when you know you can win $254,000?” Watson replied, referring to the $54,000 first-place prize in addition to the $200,000 bonus.
Watson also informed the press that his neck was cured, saying, “My neck didn’t bother me at all today.”
Lietzke cruised through the third round on Sunday morning, shooting a one-over 71. Crenshaw, with a 70, kept the pressure on, as did Watson, with eyes on the “Texas Bonanza” with a round of 71. Lietzke teed off in the afternoon final round with a one-shot lead over Crenshaw and a three-shot lead over Watson. He kept the lead going into the 12th hole, where he bogeyed, and he then bogeyed the 13th hole. Crenshaw’s birdie at the 12th hole gave him a one-shot lead.
Lietzke scrambled for pars at the 14th and 15th holes before he almost duplicated his ace from the opening round at the 16th hole. The tap-in birdie pulled him even with Crenshaw. Watson’s bonanza dream met a watery grave at the 9th hole when his approach shot from the rough found the water guarding the green.
“That was a $250,000 shot,” Watson later told reporters, including Charles Clines, sportswriter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I hit it 99% perfect. I was 140 yards from the pin and had to go over a tree. But I had the perfect lie. I was on an upslope and in a flying lie. I hit a 9-iron, but it didn’t fly like I thought it would and just didn’t clear the water.”
“There was a lot of choking going on out there.”
Crenshaw and Lietzke arrived at the 72nd hole all square, and the crowd around the tee was excited. Crenshaw hooked his drive behind some trees while Lietzke put his drive down the right side into the rough. Crenshaw knocked a 7-iron over the trees, ending up just short of the front edge of the green. Lietzke hit a 6-iron that found the green, 25 feet from the cup.
Crenshaw surveyed his chip shot before exhibiting the feel he was famous for running the chip to within inches of the cup. Lietzke surveyed his birdie putt while he fought his racing mind.
“As I walked around, all I was thinking was that I needed to get down in two to make the playoff,” Lietzke related. “Then, after about 30 seconds, I thought to myself, ‘Hey. There’s no reason I can’t make this.’ That was the first positive thought I had.”
Lietzke then stepped into his putting stance and rolled the ball in for the winning birdie and a round of 69. His 271 total earned him the $64,000 first-place check.
“People still complain about golf not being exciting on television,” Lietzke declared while sipping on champagne in the pressroom. “I don’t know if they could say that after this tournament. Was there a lot of pressure? You bet. There was a lot of choking going on out there. My swing deserted me, and I think the pressure was one reason.”
The victory was the fifth of Lietzke’s PGA TOUR career and was satisfying for him as he felt he didn’t play well in Texas. The huge National Invitational trophy proved that wasn’t the case any longer.
“It wasn’t the greatest golf ever played,” he admitted after downing the last of the champagne. “None of us played all that well. But it sure was exciting.”
Here’s what I’ve written about the PGA Championship in the past:
“The $12,000 Swing Tip” (2021) Homero Blancas turns a swing tip from Lee Trevino into a victory at the 1970 Colonial National Invitational Tournament.
“Better Than $500 and Plane Fare Home” (2022) Gene Littler overcomes low expectations in the 1971 Colonial National Invitiational.
“Dave Stockton Turns Champion’s Choice Invite Into $23,000 and a Plaid Jacket” (2023) This duel came down to the last two holes at Preston Trail.
“Largest Comeback at Colonial Since Hogan in 1946” (2024) Doug Sanders stages comeback in final round of the 1961 Colonial National Invitational.
“Wadkins Wins Horse Race by a Nose” (2025) Lanny Wadkins fights his way through a crowd to capture the 1988 Colonial.
WHAT HOLE IS IT?
Ryan Ross poses with the Herbert C. Leeds Memorial Trophy awarded to the annual WHAT HOLE IS IT? contest winner (for a year). If you know the hole Ryan is featured holding the trophy, email me at: larry@tourbackspin.com and I’ll send you a bottle of the Tour Backspin 19th Hole Hot Sauce if you’re correct.
Herbert C. Leeds Memorial Trophy Winners:
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2023 Bruce Effisimo
2024 Doug Posten
2025 Ryan Ross
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Bonus Story
Bad Blood Between Lon Hinkle and Jerry Pate
When officials pulled players off the course for a rain delay during the first round of the 1980 Colonial National Invitational Tournament, the players congregated in the locker room. The players passed the time with jokes, stories, and gossip. An incident from the week before at the Byron Nelson Golf Classic soon became the focus of the conversation.
Lon Hinkle played with Ron Streck and Jerry Pate in the first round of the Classic. At the 9th green, Pate stepped up to tap in a one-inch putt and placed his foot in a position that he was straddling the line of his putt, an infraction of the rules. Both Hinkle and Streck observed the infraction, and Hinkle was keeping Pate’s card.
“But if he was really man enough, he should have told me right then.”
At the completion of the round, Hinkle informed Pate that he was adding two strokes to his score for the rule infraction. Pate’s score went from a 73 to a 75, and Pate was not happy. There were bitter words between Hinkle and Pate in the locker room at Preston Trails after the round. Pate was particularly upset that Hinkle waited until the end of the round to inform him of the penalty.
“He told me he waited until 18 to put it down because he didn’t want to hurt his game,” Pate told reporters. “But if he was really man enough, he should have told me right then. If you’re going to call something like that in this day and time, you should at least have the courtesy to tell somebody about it to their face.”
“I’m going to have to play with him tomorrow, and now I’ve got only 18 holes of hell to go through,” Hinkle said at the time. “If I had told him after the 9th hole, there would have been 27 holes of hell to look forward to.”
“It’s a chickenshit rule for a guy to have to worry about a tap-in putt,” Hinkle admitted. “But you have to protect the field. They make the rules. The players are supposed to officiate themselves. There were 1,000 people sitting around the 9th green. It was obvious. I was keeping Jerry’s card. I asked Ron Streck, and he said he saw it, too. When two people see it, it was my duty to report it. What if one of the fans had seen it and reported it? If I ignored the thing, it could have come back. It might have looked like some kind of collusion between me and Jerry.”
Hinkle, playing with Pate the next day, shot a 72 and made the cut while Pate ballooned to a 76 and missed the cut.
The incident was still a topic of discussion the next week at Colonial Country Club.
Tour Backspin Quiz
Ben Hogan won the Colonial National Invitational Tournament five times. What year did he win for the fifth time? How old was he when he won the for the fifth time? How many tour victories did that give him? How many more PGA TOUR titles did he win after his fifth Colonial victory?
Scroll down for answer.
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Tour Backspin Quiz Answer
Ben Hogan won his fifth Colonial National Invitational Tournament in 1959 at the age of 46. It was his 62nd, and final, victory on the PGA TOUR.
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