Fleisher Still One to Catch

For a change, the big names will have to catch Bruce Fleisher.

Fleisher, who won only one tournament in 30 years on the PGA Tour, blossomed last year as a Senior PGA Tour rookie, winning player-of-the-year honors and leading the circuit with $2.5 million more than he made in his PGA Tour career.

He’s starting his second season the way he began his first, taking the lead in the Royal Caribbean Classic on Saturday with an eight-birdie, no-bogey round.

“How much better could it be?” Fleisher said. “This year I’m going in with a different outlook. The [Tom] Kites, [Tom] Watsons and [Lanny] Wadkins have to prove themselves. I don’t have to anymore. I’ll be out there fighting like everyone else, but I think the heat is on the new guys.”

Kite, the PGA Tour’s fifth-ranked career money earner, earned seven points Saturday under the Modified Stableford scoring system being used this week and was at plus-13, nine points behind Fleisher, who was plus-16 on Saturday.

Fleisher had a one-point lead over Walter Hall under a system that awards eight points for double eagles, five for eagles, two for birdies, zero for pars, minus-one for bogeys and minus-three for double bogeys.

Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt appeared more relaxed in the second round of his senior debut, getting three points after a minus-one Friday. He made a sensational bunker shot on the 18th hole that resulted in his third birdie of the day. Schmidt, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, had three bogeys.

Mike Hill, 61, who dropped off the tour last year because of back pain, had three consecutive birdies after two bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine, finishing at plus-seven for 20 points.