Fuzzy Zoeller

 ( Www.fuz.com Official Website ) 

Frank Urban " Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (; born November 11, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won ten PGA Tour events including two major championships. He is one of three golfers to have won the Masters Tournament in his first appearance in the event. He also won the 1984 U.S. Open.

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Early life and amateur career Born and raised in New Albany, Indiana, Zoeller was a successful golfer while at New Albany High School, finishing as the runner-up in the 1970 state high school tournament with a state record low round (67). After completing his high school career, he attended Edison Junior College in Florida, transferred to the University of Houston, and became a professional golfer in 1973.

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Professional career Zoeller won both of his two majors in playoffs: the 1979 Masters 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.

In 1979, Zoeller became the first golfer since 1935 to win The Masters in his first appearance in the event. 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. It was the first sudden-death playoff at The Masters; the previous six playoffs were 18-hole rounds on Monday (except 1935, which was 36 holes).

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.

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.

Zoeller 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 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.

He competed at the 1979, 1983 and 1985 .

In 2002, Zoeller joined the Champions Tour and won the Senior PGA Championship, a senior major, that year. He also won the 2004 MasterCard Championship.

In 2009, Zoeller began selling vodka under the brand name "Fuzzy's Vodka". Starting in 2012, the brand sponsored Ed Carpenter Racing's entries in the IndyCar Series.

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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. According to the suit, the edits suggested Zoeller had committed acts including alcohol, drug and domestic abuse. Defendant Josef Silny said a computer consultant would investigate. However, Zoeller dropped the lawsuit in December 2007 after being unsuccessful in finding the poster. 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.

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Awards and honors In 1985, he earned the Bob Jones Award

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Amateur wins (3)

• 1972 Florida State Junior College Championship (individual)
• 1973 Old Capital Invitational (Indiana)
• 1973 Indiana State Amateur

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Professional wins (19)

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PGA Tour wins (10)

Major championships (2)

Other PGA Tour (8)

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
2	Apr 15, 1979	Masters Tournament	70-71-69-70=280	−8	Playoff	Ed Sneed, Tom Watson
3	May 17, 1981	Colonial National Invitation	67-69-68-70=274	−6	4 strokes	Hale Irwin
4	Apr 18, 1983	Sea Pines Heritage	67-72-65-71=275	−9	2 strokes	Jim Nelford
5	Sep 18, 1983	Panasonic Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic	63-70-70-64-73=340	−18	4 strokes	Rex Caldwell
6	Jun 18, 1984	U.S. Open	71-66-69-70=276	−4	Playoff	Greg Norman
7	Mar 10, 1985	Hertz Bay Hill Classic	70-72-66-67=275	−9	2 strokes	Tom Watson
8	Feb 2, 1986	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	69-66-70=205*	−11	5 strokes	Payne Stewart
9	Apr 20, 1986	Sea Pines Heritage (2)	68-68-69-71=276	−8	1 stroke	Chip Beck, Roger Maltbie, Greg Norman
10	Jul 13, 1986	Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic	70-68-72-64=274	−10	2 strokes	Jodie Mudd

*Note: The 1986 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

1	1979	Masters Tournament	Ed Sneed, Tom Watson	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1983	Colonial National Invitation	Jim Colbert	Lost to par on sixth extra hole
3	1984	U.S. Open	Greg Norman	Won 18-hole playoff; Zoeller: −3 (67), Norman: +5 (75)
4	1994	Tour Championship	Mark McCumber	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

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Other wins (4)

• 1985 Skins Game
• 1986 Skins Game
• 1987 Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out Championship
• 2003 Tylenol Par-3 Shootout

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Champions Tour wins (2)

Senior major championships (1)

Other Champions Tour (1)

1	Jun 9, 2002	Senior PGA Championship	−2 (69-71-70-68=278)	1 stroke	Hale Irwin, Bobby Wadkins
2	Jan 25, 2004	MasterCard Championship	−20 (67-65-64=196)	1 stroke	Dana Quigley

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Other senior wins (3)

• 2002 Senior Slam
• 2008 Wendy's Champions Skins Game (with Peter Jacobsen)
• 2009 Wendy's Champions Skins Game (with Ben Crenshaw)

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Major championships

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Wins (2)

Ed Sneed, Tom Watson

Greg Norman

¹Defeated Sneed and Watson in a sudden-death playoff - 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).

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Results timeline

Masters Tournament				1
U.S. Open	T38	T44	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship				CUT
PGA Championship		T54	10	T54

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

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

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.

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Summary

18

14

10

13

• Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1993 Masters – 1994 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

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Results in The Players Championship

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

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Champions Tour major championships

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Wins (1)

Hale Irwin, Bobby Wadkins

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U.S. national team appearances Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners), 1983 (winners), 1985
• Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Senior PGA Tour): 2001

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See also

• 1974 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

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External links

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