Background and career
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (; 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.
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). 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.
Zoeller became a professional golfer in 1973. In 1979, Zoeller became the first golfer since 1935 to win The Masters in his first appearance in the event. 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. It was the first sudden-death playoff at The Masters.
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. 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. He competed in the 1979, 1983, and 1985 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.
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.
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 the hell they serve". The remarks were condemned as racist, and this incident haunted Zoeller for the rest of his life.
