Quick Nine with Bruce Zabriski
Zabriski at the 1996 Met Open.
The MGA caught up with two-time Met Open and MGA Senior Open winner Bruce Zabriski, a former competitor on the European Tour, PGA Tour, and Nationwide Tour for a combined eight years. He discussed his memories competing in major championships, playing in local events, and competing against longtime Deepdale Head Professional Darrell Kestner.
Related: Quick Nine - Jim McGovern
MGA: You grew up playing and caddieing at Southampton Golf Club, and you still hold the course record with a 61, what were those years like?
BZ: The members at Southampton were very supportive. We were a local family and were never members at the club. Bob Joyce, the former head professional there, was great. We played on caddie days and if you worked in the golf shop, you could play every day after 3 o’clock.
MGA: Your first major championship was the 1986 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, right down the road where you grew up. What was that week like?
BZ: It was a dream come true. My father passed away a few months after. He was in a wheelchair and I’ll never forget that day before I teed off.
It was the first round and the first hole at Shinnecock was one of the shortest holes. All you needed was a 3-wood and a wedge. When they announced my name and where I was from, all the locals and friends showed their support and I was getting emotional. I made a couple of waggles and my dad yelled right as I was about to swing, ‘Go get em’ Bruce!’ I hit a perfect shot right down the middle of the fairway and I was balling my eyes out.
Jim Albus was teeing off before me, and Jim was like a dad to me back in those days. He was such a great friend. When I was getting ready to tee off, I went up to Jim and asked him for any tips for my first major. He told me to get a tee with a big head on it, because my hands are going to shake because I’d be so nervous. That was his way of trying to be funny.
MGA: From 1985-1987, you played full-time on the European Tour, why did you decide to go over to Europe to compete?
BZ: Darrell [Kestner] was the one who talked me into going. I started to play in the mini tours down in Florida and got my European Tour card after trying to qualify in La Manga Spain with Darrell. Sure enough I qualified and Darrell didn’t. The membership at Southampton were so great and helped me. One of them was Mike Vahradian, the president at the club at the time, was a great supporter. They all were great.
MGA: Were you close with Darrell Kestner while you were both trying to make it on Tour?
BZ: We were joined at the hip back then. We traveled together and played all over. We were inseparable until I played on the European Tour and he stayed and worked as a club professional. He’s such a quality guy to lose touch with him during those years but we’re still very good friends.
MGA: In 1995, you were a runner-up to Darrell at the Met Open at The Atlantic Club, do you remember how that played out?
BZ: Oh I do! And if you ask him, he would say I should have beat him, too. We were paired together the last round, and I remember the final hole, I had a one-shot lead entering the par-5 18th. My third shot I had a wedge in, and I flew it into the cup and it bounced back maybe 30 feet away. Darrell made birdie and I made par and then he beat me in a playoff.
Looking back, I think Darrell understood the game better than I did and he understood that sometimes you’re going to hit bad shots and I would always lose my temper. That’s why I think he’s always done so well.
MGA: You won two Met Opens yourself - 1993 at Quaker Ridge and 1996 at Stanwich. What stands out to you about those wins?
BZ: I remember I was coming back home from playing around the country. I remember my level was good enough where if I could really get it going I could play so well. At places like Stanwich, you have to know where not to hit the ball on those greens and I felt like I was hitting the ball where I had to every time. I felt like my game was on during those wins.
MGA: When you worked locally at Westchester Country Club, you also had the chance to play down the road in the 1997 PGA Championship when it was held at Winged Foot. How do you remember that week?
BZ: The first thing I remember was that I was trying to prepare for my round but what I didn’t plan for was meeting Byron Nelson at the tee with the trophy greeting every player there. That threw me off my schedule but it was such a treat being able to talk to him before my round.
The second thing I remember was Bob Regan, a retired New York City fireman who loved golf, caddied for me that week. The group behind us had Jack Nicklaus in it and we walked up to the third hole, a 220-yard par-3 where we had to wait for the group in front of us to finish. When Jack walked up behind us, my caddie Bob went up to him and asked for his autograph while were waiting [laughs]. He couldn’t have been more of a gentleman.
But when it was my turn to hit, I teed up my 3-iron and it went about a foot from the hole. Jack came over and looked in my bag to see what I had hit and he said, ‘Bruce, terrific shot.’ It was so much fun being there that week.
MGA: You also worked at Winged Foot from 1993-1995. How do you think Winged Foot will play in the fall, for the This year’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot is now moved to September. Having worked there for a few years from 1993-1995 and having played in a major there, how do you think it will play in the fall?
BZ: We’ll have to see how they manage the rough. I think they can always protect the scores at Winged Foot, even as great as these players are now, just because there’s so much motion on those greens. They can place the pins on so many holes where they can make it nearly impossible. We’ll have to see.
MGA: During your career in this area you won the Met Open, New York State Open (1984), Long Island Open (1985, 89, 91, 93) and Westchester Open (1997, 98). What does it mean to you to have one of the best all-time Met Area playing records?
BZ: I grew up in the era of Jim Albus, Jimmy Wright, Tom Joyce. The next group after that, Darrell Kestner, Martin Bohen, Larry Renz, the list goes on. To win a tournament, you really had to play well. I think the MGA has done a really nice job of preserving history and traditions. I think most pros in the country would say it’s the best area in the country. It’s special.