Martin Alan Fleckman (born April 23, 1944) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s.
| Marty Fleckman | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Martin Alan Fleckman[1] |
| Born | April 23, 1944 Port Arthur, Texas |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Career | |
| College | University of Houston |
| Turned professional | 1967 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 1 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 1969 |
| PGA Championship | T4: 1968 |
| U.S. Open | T18: 1967 |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
Born in Port Arthur, Texas,[2] Fleckman credits Byron Nelson, Carl Lohren, and Jim Hardy with teaching him how to play golf.[3][4] At the age of 20 in 1964, Fleckman won the individual title at the Texas State Amateur. In 1965, he won the NCAA Championship while at the University of Houston,[2] where he was a three-time All-American member of the golf team: third-team in 1964, first-team in 1965 and 1966.[5] He competed for the United States in Israel in the 1965 Maccabiah Games.[6] He was a member of the Walker Cup team in 1967.
While still an amateur, Fleckman played in the U.S. Open at Baltusrol in 1967. He led after the first and third rounds,[7][8] but shot 80 (+10) on Sunday amid a surge by eventual champion Jack Nicklaus.[3][9][10] The last amateur to lead the U.S. Open at 54 holes was Johnny Goodman, 34 years earlier in 1933.[2] (Seven years earlier in 1960, Nicklaus led as an amateur during the final round.) Fleckman finished in a tie for 18th place and was the low amateur, a stroke ahead of Bob Murphy, who shot 69 in the final round.[9]
In his first start on the PGA Tour in December 1967, Fleckman won the Cajun Classic Open Invitational in a playoff.[2] At Oakbourne Country Club in Lafayette, Louisiana, he sank a 30-foot (9 m) birdie putt on the first extra hole to defeat Jack Montgomery and take the winner's share of $5,000.[11][12] It was his third consecutive birdie, finishing regulation play with two.[11] Fleckman is only one of five other players to win his first tour event as a professional,[4] and has since been joined by Ben Crenshaw (1973), Robert Gamez (1990), Garrett Willis (2001), and Russell Henley (2013). This was to be his only Tour title. His best finish in a major was a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship in 1968.[13]
Fleckman was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1986, and into the University of Houston Hall of Honor in 2006.[3][4] He also received the prestigious 2007 Teacher of the Year Award for the Southern Texas Section of the PGA.[4] He currently works as director of golf instruction at Blackhorse Teaching Center in Texas.[5]
Amateur wins (4) edit
- 1964 Texas State Amateur
- 1965 NCAA Championship
- 1966 Eastern Amateur
- 1967 Northeast Amateur
Professional wins (1) edit
PGA Tour wins (1) edit
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 3, 1967 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | 67-68-71-69=275 | −13 | Playoff |  Jack Montgomery
|
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1967 | Cajun Classic Open Invitational | Jack Montgomery
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Results in major championships edit
| Tournament | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |||||||||||
| U.S. Open | T18 LA | CUT | 60 | WD | CUT | |||||||
| PGA Championship | T4 |
Note: Fleckman never played in The Open Championship.
LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Team appearances edit
Amateur
- Walker Cup: 1967 (winners)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 26, 1965). "Fleckman's 281 Wins N.C.A.A. Golf Crown". Chicago Tribune. p. 3. Retrieved October 30, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Elliott, Len; Kelly, Barbara (1976). Who's Who in Golf. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House. pp. 64–5. ISBN 0-87000-225-2.
- ^ a b c "Marty Fleckman, PGA Professional". Archived from the original on 2007-08-04. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
- ^ a b c d "Biographical information from Marty Fleckman's website". Retrieved 2007-12-31.
- ^ a b "Biographical information from University of Houston Athletics official site". Archived from the original on 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
- ^ "Jewish Post 20 August 1965 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program".
- ^ Bartlett, Charles (June 18, 1967). "Amateur Fleckman regains Open lead". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 2.
- ^ Grimsley, Will (June 18, 1967). "Fleckman fires 69, leads U.S. Open by stroke at 209". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. D-1.
- ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (June 19, 1967). "Nicklaus shoots 65, wins Open". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
- ^ Wright, Alfred (June 26, 1967). "Jack Delivers the Crusher". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
- ^ a b "Fleckman's 30-footer nets Cajun, PGA mark". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 4, 1967. p. 2B.
- ^ "Fleckman victor in playoff". Chicago Tribune. UPI. December 4, 1967. p. 4, sec. 3.
- ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved 2008-01-07.
External links edit
- Marty Fleckman at the PGA Tour official site
- Texas Golf Hall of Fame – Marty Fleckman