Hale Irwin and Tom Kite were critical of Bruce Fleisher's absence from last week's U.S. Open in New York, saying the reigning U.S. Senior Open champion's appearance would have aided the health of the senior tour.

"They were saying that I was our best representative since I won the [Senior] Open," Fleisher said yesterday, speculating that Irwin and Kite's comments were probably misconstrued a bit. "In all fairness, I felt like I couldn't be competitive on that course, and I said, 'Why play?' "

Senior tour aside, it turned out avoiding Bethpage State Park's Black Course altogether was the best thing for his health. Fleisher played instead in the senior event in Nashville, Tenn., finishing second. But it was off-the-course news that preoccupied Fleisher's mind.

While at the BellSouth Senior Classic, he was one of 32 players to receive a free physical through a tour health program started last year. The screening results showed early indicators of prostate cancer, the same disease that claimed the life of his father two years ago.

Fleisher, 53, had additional tests early this week and will undergo more after defending his U.S. Senior Open title next week at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills.

"I look at it as a blessing I didn't play the Open," said Fleisher, who happened to be near Vanderbilt University Medical Center, one of the most respected health campuses in the country, last week. "If I played at Bethpage, I may not have had a [prostate] test for another year, and who knows."

Second a good return

Fleisher also responded yesterday to other hubbub in the senior tour: the critical comments of senior legends, like Gary Player and Arnold Palmer, toward players on the PGA Tour, besides Tiger Woods.

The Hall of Famers knocked touring pros for their lack of a will to win tournaments, their satisfaction with second- or third-place finishes.

"I get so [ticked] off at that," Player told reporters. "The only person who remembers if you finish second is your wife and your dog - and that's if you have a good wife and a good dog."

Fleisher, runner-up at the BellSouth Classic last week, was a little more lenient on the young bucks.

"There are times when second place isn't so bad, and I picked up $117,000 [last week]. It wasn't so bad," he joked, throwing some sympathy toward guys like Phil Mickelson, the so-called best player never to have won a major who finished second at the Open to Woods. "Phil doesn't need second-place money. I am sure he'd gladly trade in $600,000 for a [major] win."

A game of inches

Sixty inches separated Jim Thorpe from a chance at winning last year's State Farm Senior Classic at Hayfields Country Club. Thorpe couldn't convert on a 5-foot birdie putt on the 54th and final hole of the tournament, missing a playoff with Fleisher and Allen Doyle by one stroke to finish third in the event.

"That stuff is going to happen," said Thorpe, who went to school and played football at Morgan State. "Everyone has missed a putt like that in their career. It's not something to worry about."

Thorpe, 53, did hit several putts on the back nine, including a 15-foot par putt on the 17th hole, to have a chance to make the playoff.

Thorpe, who won his first major tournament earlier this year at The Tradition, likes his chances this weekend after last year's success.

"This golf course seems to fit me," Thorpe said. "I can be very, very tough. There again, I can sit here and talk a wonderful game, but if I don't go out and execute, then the same thing is going to happen again."

Thorpe tees off in the Greater Baltimore Classic's first round at 10:40 a.m. today.

Pro-Am winners

Jim Dent's team (amateurs Frank Favazza, William Ruppert, Tom D'Alesandro and Carl Greeley) won the Super Seniors best-ball Pro-Am yesterday at Hillendale Country Club with a 27-under-par 45. ... Ed Dougherty's team (amateurs Al Camp, Mike McCoy, Don Ditullo and Mark Delahanty) won the Pro-Am at Hayfields with a 21-under 51.