Fuzzy Zoeller, two-time golf champion, dies at 74 : NPR

Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most affable characters, whose career was spoiled by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died, according to a longtime associate. He was 74 years old.

The cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Naugle, tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoeller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.

Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on his first attempt, a three-man playoff in 1979. He famously waved a white towel at Winged Foot in 1984 when he thought Greg Norman had beaten him, only to defeat Norman in an 18-hole playoff the next day.

But it was the 1997 Masters that turned his popularity around.

Woods was headed toward a major moment in golf with the most impressive win in Augusta National history. Zoeller had completed his round and was under an oak tree near the clubhouse, drink in hand, when CNN stopped him and asked his thoughts about the 21-year-old Woods.

“That little guy is driving well and he’s performing well. He’s trying everything he can to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets here? You pat him on the back and congratulate him and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it?” Zoeller said.

He smiled and snapped his fingers, and as he was leaving he turned and said, “Or collard greens or whatever they serve.”

That moment haunted him throughout his career.

Zoeller apologized. Woods was traveling and it took two weeks for him to comment as the controversy escalated. Zoeller later said that after that moment he received death threats for years.

Writing for Golf Digest in 2008, he said it was “the worst thing that happened in my entire life.”

Zoeller wrote, “If people want me to feel the same misery I inflicted on others, I’m here to tell you they’ve got their way.” “I have cried many times. I have apologized countless times for words I said in jest that are not a reflection of my personality. I have hundreds of friends, including people of color, who will confirm this.

“Nonetheless, I come to terms with the fact that this phenomenon will never go away.”

It ruined a career filled with one Senior PGA Championship among his two famous major titles, eight other PGA Tour titles and two PGA Tour Champions titles.

More than winning, it was how he went about it. Zoeller played fast and yet had a natural flair for the game, often whistling between shots.

He made his Masters debut in 1979 and advanced to a three-way playoff when Ed Sneed bogeyed the final three holes. Zoeller defeated Snead and Tom Watson with a birdie on the second playoff hole, launching his putter into the air.

Zoeller once said, “I’ve never been to Heaven, and thinking about my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go.” “I think winning the Masters is close to me.”

Zoeller was caught in a duel with Norman at Winged Foot in 1984, playing in the back group and watching Norman make putt after putt. So when he saw Norman make a 40-foot putt on the 18th, he assumed it was for birdie and started waving a white towel in a moment of sportsmanship.

Only later did they realize it was a par, and Zoeller made par to force a playoff. Zoeller defeated him by eight shots in an 18-hole playoff (67–75). Zoeller’s only regret was that he gave the towel to a child after completing the regulation.

“If you see a dirty white towel hanging up, bring it for me, won’t you?” He once said.

He was born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr. in New Albany, Indiana. Zoeller said that his father was known only as “Fuzzy” and that he was given that name. Before turning professional he played at a junior college in Florida before joining the powerful Houston golf team.

His wife, Dianne, died in 2021. Zoeller has three children, including daughter Gretchen, with whom he played at the PNC Championship. Zoeller was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the USGA in 1985, the organization’s highest honor given for distinguished sporting prowess.