Two-time major champion Frank Urban “Fuzzy” Zoeller Jr., the Indiana kid who grew into one of golf’s most memorable showmen, died Nov. 27. He was 74.
“Fuzzy was one of a kind,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said. “We are grateful for all he gave to golf. I hope we can all remember his unmistakable joy. The USGA is sending our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Zoeller grew up in New Albany, Ind., and got his famous nickname from his initials. He became a standout at the University of Houston — then a powerhouse — before turning pro in 1973. Six years later he stunned Augusta National by becoming only the second golfer to win the Masters in his first try, joining Gene Sarazen’s 1935 feat. Zoeller, then 27, outlasted Tom Watson and Ed Sneed after they finished tied after 72 holes.
In the first sudden-death playoff ever held at Augusta, all three opened with pars on No. 10. Sneed and Watson made par on the next hole, leaving Zoeller a 6-footer for birdie and the green jacket. When it dropped, he slung his putter into the sky — a moment still replayed every April. “I’ve never been to heaven, and thinking back on my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go,” he once said. “I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.”
Five years later, Zoeller delivered another classic at the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He opened with a 71, then blitzed the field with a 66 to end Friday one shot behind Hale Irwin, the 1974 champion on the same course. Both men carded 69s on Saturday, with Greg Norman posting a 69 of his own to sit two back.
Irwin collapsed with a 79 in the final round, turning the championship into a Zoeller-Norman duel. Zoeller built a three-shot cushion on the front nine. Norman clawed back and tied him, then sent a wild 6-iron into the grandstand on 18. After a free drop, Norman chipped across the green and drained a stunning 50-footer to save par. Believing Norman had made birdie, Zoeller jokingly waved a white towel from the fairway in mock surrender.
“I looked at my caddie, and I said, ‘My God, he just beat us,’” Zoeller told The New York Times in 2006. “One of the USGA guys, God bless their souls, told me that was for a par. I immediately looked over. ‘For a par? Where did he hit his second shot to?’” Zoeller steadied himself and two-putted for par to set up a Monday playoff.
In the Open’s first playoff since 1975, Zoeller came out firing. He birdied the first two holes while Norman double-bogeyed the second, a dagger the Australian never recovered from. Zoeller led by five at the turn and posted a record 67 — still the lowest round ever in a U.S. Open playoff — throttling Norman by eight shots. As they approached the 18th, Norman returned Zoeller’s joke and waved his own white towel.
“I’m not a great player, but I’m a damn good one,” Zoeller said after sealing the title.
