Fuzzy Zoeller
American professional golfer (1951–2025)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (/ˈzɛlər/; November 11, 1951 – November 27, 2025) was an American professional golfer who won 10 PGA Tour events including two major championships. He won the 1979 Masters Tournament, becoming the third golfer to win in his first appearance in the event. He also won the 1984 U.S. Open.[1]
| Fuzzy Zoeller | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Zoeller in 2008 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Frank Urban Zoeller Jr. | ||
| Nickname | Fuzzy | ||
| Born | November 11, 1951 New Albany, Indiana, U.S. | ||
| Died | November 27, 2025 (aged 74) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Residence | Floyds Knobs, Indiana, U.S. | ||
| Spouse | Diane Thornton Zoeller | ||
| Children | 4 | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Edison Junior College (FL) University of Houston | ||
| Turned professional | 1973 | ||
| Former tours | PGA Tour Champions Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 19 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 10 | ||
| PGA Tour Champions | 2 | ||
| Other | 7 | ||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |||
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1979 | ||
| PGA Championship | 2nd: 1981 | ||
| U.S. Open | Won: 1984 | ||
| The Open Championship | 3rd: 1994 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
| Signature | |||
 | |||
Early life and amateur career
Zoeller was born and raised in New Albany, Indiana. While attending New Albany High School, he was a star golfer, finishing as the runner-up in the 1970 state high school tournament with a state record low round (67).[2]
After graduating high school, he attended Edison Junior College in Florida, transferred to the University of Houston in Texas, and became a professional golfer in 1973.[3]
Professional golfing career
Zoeller became a professional golfer in 1973.[4][5]
In 1979, Zoeller became the first golfer since 1935[a] to win The Masters in his first appearance in the event.[3] Zoeller won both of his two major tournaments in playoffs: the Masters in 1979 at Augusta National Golf Club in a three-way sudden-death playoff with Ed Sneed and Tom Watson; and the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club after an 18-hole playoff with Greg Norman.[3] It was the first sudden-death playoff at The Masters.[6]
For much of his career, Zoeller was famous for waving a white towel in mock surrender from the fairway of the 72nd hole of the 1984 U.S. Open, after Greg Norman holed a long putt on the 72nd green to tie Zoeller for the tournament lead. At the end of the 18-hole playoff the next day between Norman and Zoeller (which Zoeller won by 8 strokes), Norman waved a white towel himself, returning the joke.[7]
Zoeller was voted the 1985 winner of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.[8] He shared the 54-hole lead in the 1994 Open Championship after a 3rd round of 64, but finished the tournament in 3rd place, his best-ever finish in The Open. Zoeller missed an 8-foot (2.4 m) birdie putt on the 18th green in his 3rd round at Turnberry which would have tied the record for the best single round at The Open.[9]
He competed in the 1979,[10] 1983,[11] and 1985[12] Ryder Cups. In 2002, he joined the Champions Tour and won the Senior PGA Championship, a senior major, that year. He also won the 2004 MasterCard Championship.[3]
Other pursuits
In 2009, Zoeller began selling vodka under the brand name Fuzzy's Vodka.[13][14] Starting in 2012, the brand sponsored Ed Carpenter Racing's entries in the IndyCar Series.[15]
Controversies and legal issues
In 1997, during the 1997 Masters Tournament, Zoeller was asked about Tiger Woods and responded, "Tell him not to serve fried chicken next year...or collard greens or whatever they serve". The remarks were condemned as racist, and this incident haunted Zoeller for the rest of his life.[8]
Defamation lawsuit
On February 13, 2007, Zoeller sued Josef Silny & Associates, a foreign-credential evaluation firm based in Miami, Florida. The lawsuit alleged that defamatory statements appeared in the Wikipedia article about Zoeller in December 2006, originating from a computer at that firm.[16][17] According to the suit, the edits suggested Zoeller had committed acts including alcohol, drug, and domestic abuse.[18] Defendant Josef Silny said a computer consultant would investigate.[19][20] However, Zoeller dropped the lawsuit in December 2007 after being unsuccessful in finding the poster.[21] Zoeller was unable to sue Wikipedia for the statements due to protections accorded to providers of "interactive computer services" under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.[22]
Personal life and death
Awards and honors
In 1985, he was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the United States Golf Association.[8]
Amateur wins
Professional wins (19)
PGA Tour wins (10)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (2) |
| Other PGA Tour (8) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 28, 1979 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | 76-67-67-72=282 | −6 | 5 strokes |  Billy Kratzert, Wayne Levi, Artie McNickle, Tom Watson |
[26] |
| 2 | Apr 15, 1979 | Masters Tournament | 70-71-69-70=280 | −8 | Playoff | Ed Sneed, Tom Watson |
[27] |
| 3 | May 17, 1981 | Colonial National Invitation | 67-69-68-70=274 | −6 | 4 strokes | Hale Irwin |
[28] |
| 4 | Apr 18, 1983 | Sea Pines Heritage | 67-72-65-71=275 | −9 | 2 strokes |  Jim Nelford |
[29] |
| 5 | Sep 18, 1983 | Panasonic Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic | 63-70-70-64-73=340 | −18 | 4 strokes | Rex Caldwell |
[30] |
| 6 | Jun 18, 1984 | U.S. Open | 71-66-69-70=276 | −4 | Playoff |  Greg Norman |
[31] |
| 7 | Mar 10, 1985 | Hertz Bay Hill Classic | 70-72-66-67=275 | −9 | 2 strokes | Tom Watson |
[32] |
| 8 | Feb 2, 1986 | AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | 69-66-70=205[b] | −11 | 5 strokes | Payne Stewart |
[33] |
| 9 | Apr 20, 1986 | Sea Pines Heritage (2) | 68-68-69-71=276 | −8 | 1 stroke | Chip Beck, Roger Maltbie, Greg Norman |
[29][33] |
| 10 | Jul 13, 1986 | Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic | 70-68-72-64=274 | −10 | 2 strokes | Jodie Mudd |
[33] |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1979 | Masters Tournament | Ed Sneed, Tom Watson |
Won with birdie on second extra hole | [34] |
| 2 | 1983 | Colonial National Invitation | Jim Colbert |
Lost to par on sixth extra hole | [35] |
| 3 | 1984 | U.S. Open | Greg Norman |
Won 18-hole playoff; Zoeller: −3 (67), Norman: +5 (75) |
[36] |
| 4 | 1994 | Tour Championship | Mark McCumber |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole | [37] |
Other wins (4)
- 1985 Skins Game[38]
- 1986 Skins Game[38]
- 1987 Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out Championship[39]
- 2003 Tylenol Par-3 Shootout[40]
Champions Tour wins (2)
| Legend |
|---|
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Other Champions Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 9, 2002 | Senior PGA Championship | −2 (69-71-70-68=278) | 1 stroke | Hale Irwin, Bobby Wadkins |
[41] |
| 2 | Jan 25, 2004 | MasterCard Championship | −20 (67-65-64=196) | 1 stroke | Dana Quigley |
[42] |
Other senior wins (3)
- 2002 Senior Slam[43]
- 2008 Wendy's Champions Skins Game (with Peter Jacobsen)[44]
- 2009 Wendy's Champions Skins Game (with Ben Crenshaw)[45]
Major championships
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runner(s)-up | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Masters Tournament | 6 shot deficit | 70-71-69-70=280 | −8 | Playoff1 | Ed Sneed, Tom Watson | [34] |
| 1984 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | 71-66-69-70=276 | −4 | Playoff2 | Greg Norman | [36] |
1Defeated Sneed and Watson in a sudden-death playoff[5] - Zoeller 4-3 (−1), Sneed 4-4 (E) and Watson 4-4 (E).
2Defeated Norman in an 18-hole playoff - Zoeller 67 (–3), Norman 75 (+5).
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | |||
| U.S. Open | T38 | T44 | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship | CUT[5] | |||
| PGA Championship | T54 | 10 | T54[5] |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T19 | T43 | T10 | T20 | T31 | CUT | T21 | T27 | T16 | T26 |
| U.S. Open | T53 | T15 | CUT | 1 | T9 | T15 | CUT | T8 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T8 | T14 | T14 | T11 | T8 | T29 | T52 | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | T41 | 2 | CUT | T6 | T54 | CUT | 64 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T20 | T12 | T19 | T11 | T35 | CUT | CUT | T34 | T33 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T8 | T5 | CUT | T68 | T58 | T21 | T28 | CUT | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | T80 | T14 | 3 | CUT | ||||||
| PGA Championship | T14 | CUT | T31 | T19 | 69 | T36 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | 60 | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1979 Open Championship)
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 18 |
| U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 14 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 10 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 13 |
| Totals | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 30 | 87 | 55 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1993 Masters – 1994 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)
Results in The Players Championship
| Tournament | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | 79 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T56 | CUT | T27 | CUT | T54 | T23 | T45 | CUT | 2 | T64 | T34 | 2 | T55 | T4 | T14 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Champions Tour major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runners-up | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Senior PGA Championship | 69-71-70-68=278 | −2 | 2 strokes | Hale Irwin, Bobby Wadkins | [41] |
U.S. national team appearances
See also
Notes
- The only two other golfers to have won The Masters on their debut at Augusta were the winners of the first two Masters tournaments Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen, in 1934 and 1935 respectively.
- Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.