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Steve Flesch
Age: 37
Date of birth: May 23, 1967
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
From: University of Kentucky
HT: 5-11 WT: 155
Turned Pro: 1990
Joined Tour: 1998
Flesch, 37, is in his seventh year on the PGA Tour and has two wins and more than $10million in earnings. He also is becoming one of the more media savvy and recognizable players in the game.
Flesch, who is ninth on the Ryder Cup points list and 46th on the career earnings list, is using television and a relaxed attitude to win fans.
"He's a guy everybody across the country is starting to pull for," Golfweek writer Jeff Babineau said. "He's a very likeable guy, and he's in his element out here now."
The former University of Kentucky standout has his own segment called "In the Flesch" on The Golf Channel's pre-tournament show during weeks he plays. He also is interviewed on the network virtually every week — no matter how well he plays — and has been featured in each of the major golf publications this year.
"I don't know how to explain it," Flesch said. "I'm just comfortable doing the Golf Channel thing, and in turn I think that helps my game. I don't take myself as serious.
"I've been fortunate in my seven years out here. I knew I could contend, and it was a matter getting a chance. Now here I am. I'm just enjoying everything right now. Who knows what this game is going to deal you down the road?"
Flesch was the PGA Rookie of the Year in 1998 and finished among the top 75 on the tour's money list each of his first five years.
He held leads several times in tournaments and was runner-up three times but couldn't seal the deal in his first 174 events on tour.
After a couple of visits to noted teacher Butch Harmon in November 2002, Flesch's game took a turn for the better.
"Everything has just been a lot easier and more consistent," he said. "Ever since I started working with Butch, I don't have to worry about the things I did five or six years ago out here. We have my swing to where it feels good day in and day out."
Harmon, the former teacher of Tiger Woods, tweaked Flesch's setup and posture and "just ironed out some things I got sidetracked with."
It all worked.
Flesch "got the monkey off my back" last year when he won the HP Classic of New Orleans, getting a birdie on the first hole of a playoff to beat Bob Estes.
After the initial work with Harmon, Flesch said he now sees him only at major championships and a few other tournaments.
"I'm just more confident now," Flesch said. "He can pinpoint the little things, and we can change them while I'm playing. Now I feel like I can take more time off when I'm home and not practice as much. When I go back, my swing is right where I left off."
He said his win last month at the Bank of America Colonial was "more of a validation of myself out here," and it also helped bring him more stardom.
"Flesch's anonymity is fading fast," Sports Illustrated's Gary Van Sickel said then.
And now there is The Golf Channel gig.
Flesch said he was approached about doing something on the air each week.
"I said I didn't want to be a reporter out there," he said. "I wanted to bring a different spin, and it's been a lot of fun."
Flesch looks comfortable and confident during the segments, cracking jokes with the three hosts in the studio.
"I'm not afraid to give an opinion or cut on somebody in terms of joking with them or something like that," he said. "I think that's where a lot of the media attention has come from, just being comfortable in front of the camera."
Since he started with The Golf Channel, he often drops in on the network's set during events and is high on the request list of many of the national golf writers.
"It takes some guys a while to get comfortable out here," Babineau said. "He seems to be really relaxed right now. Here we were a couple of days from the U.S. Open, and he shrugs his shoulders and was at a Golf Channel reception.
"He's always been a good guy to talk to, and he's a good quote."
Not to mention that his game is at a high level. Flesch is No.25 in the world rankings and 10th on the PGA earnings list with $1,975,416.
"I'm more confident in my game right now than ever before," he said. "My putting is what it comes down to."
STEVE FLESCH ON THE PGA TOUR
| Year | Events | 1-2-3 | Top 10 | Top 25 | Made Cut | Earnings |
| 1998 | 29 | 0-1-1 | 5 | 14 | 23 | $777,186 |
| 1999 | 31 | 0-1-0 | 3 | 6 | 20 | $552,346 |
| 2000 | 32 | 0-1-0 | 13 | 21 | 29 | $2,025,781 |
| 2001 | 32 | 0-0-0 | 6 | 14 | 24 | $1,207,552 |
| 2002 | 32 | 0-0-0 | 7 | 11 | 22 | $1,192,341 |
| 2003 | 33 | 1-0-0 | 9 | 12 | 21 | $2,269,630 |
| 2004 | 17 | 1-0-1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | $1,975,416 |
| Totals | 210 | 2-3-2 | 46 | 86 | 155 | *$10,000,251 |
PGA Tour wins: 2003 HP Classic of New Orleans, 2004 Bank of America Colonial.
Other wins: 1996 Benson & Hedges Malaysian Open (Asian Tour); 1997 Nike Tour Championship.
*—Does not add because of rounding.
Sources: By JODY DEMLING
jdemling@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
June 16, 2004
PGATour.com.
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