Bruce wasted little time in becoming the dominant player on the SENIOR TOUR, walking away with all top post-season honors including Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the Byron Nelson Trophy for best scoring average (69.19). He joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1999.
He was the first rookie since Lee Trevino in 1990 to win the Arnold Palmer Award as the leading money-winner with $2,515,705 ($78,894/start), the second highest single-season amount in the history of the circuit. Bruce also joined Trevino (1990), Bruce Crampton (1986) and Miller Barber (1981) as the only other players to win seven official tournaments in their first year on the SENIOR TOUR. He had a SENIOR TOUR-record 56 rounds in the 60s, topping the old mark of 54 set by Jim Albus in 1994, and was under par in 75 of the 96 rounds he played last year, a remarkable percentage of 78.1.
Bruce won the 1991 PGA Tour New England Classic. He also has 14 Senior PGA Tour victories: 1999 Royal Caribbean Classic, American Express Invitational, The Home Depot Invitational, BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland, Lightpath Long Island Classic, The Transamerica, EMC Kaanapali Classic. 2000 Royal Caribbean Classic, GTE Classic, The Home Depot Invitational, Lightpath Long Island Classic. 2001 Las Vegas Senior Classic, and The Home Depot Invitational, U.S. Senior Open. Internationally, he won the 2000 AIB Irish Seniors Open. His other victories include: 1968 U.S. Amateur, 1971and 1990 Brazilian Open, 1989 PGA Club Pro Championship, 1990 PGA Cup (team), 1990 Jamaican Open, and 1990 Bahamas Open.
Bruce became the eighth player in SENIOR TOUR history to win in his debut when he went wire-to-wire in claiming the Royal Caribbean Classic at Key Biscayne. A three-stroke victory over Larry Nelson at the American Express Invitational in Sarasota made him the first player ever to win his first two starts on the circuit. With 19 top-10 finishes, he is second on the SENIOR TOUR in Top 10s and second in Sub-Par Rounds (75).
In 2001, he ranked 2nd on the Senior PGA Tour money list, with earnings of $2,411,543. In 2001, he ranked 2nd on the Senior PGA Tour money list, with earnings of $2,411,543.
Has played more than 400 events on the PGA Tour
