Fuzzy Zoeller

Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller Jr. (November 11, 1951 – November 27, 2025) was an American professional golfer with 10 PGA Tour victories, including two major championships. He took the 1979 Masters Tournament, making him only the third golfer ever to win the event on his first try. He also claimed the 1984 U.S. Open.

Zoeller grew up in New Albany, Indiana, and starred on his high school golf team. He placed second in the 1970 state high school tournament, shooting a state-record low round of 67. After high school, he attended Edison Junior College in Florida, then transferred to the University of Houston. He turned professional in 1973.

In 1979, Zoeller became the first golfer since 1935 to win the Masters in his debut. Both of his major wins came in playoffs: the Masters in a three-way sudden-death playoff against Ed Sneed and Tom Watson, and the 1984 U.S. Open after an 18-hole playoff with Greg Norman. That Masters marked the first sudden-death playoff in the tournament's history.

Zoeller was known for a memorable gesture during the 1984 U.S. Open. After Greg Norman sank a long putt on the 72nd hole to tie for the lead, Zoeller waved a white towel from the fairway in mock surrender. The next day, after Zoeller won the 18-hole playoff by eight strokes, Norman returned the joke by waving a white towel himself.

In 1985, Zoeller received the Bob Jones Award, the USGA's highest honor for sportsmanship. He shared the 54-hole lead at the 1994 Open Championship after a third-round 64, finishing third—his best result in that major. He missed an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th green in that round that would have tied the record for the best single round in Open history.

Zoeller played in the Ryder Cup in 1979, 1983, and 1985. He joined the Champions Tour in 2002 and won the Senior PGA Championship that year, along with the 2004 MasterCard Championship.

In 2009, he launched a vodka brand called Fuzzy's Vodka. Starting in 2012, the brand sponsored Ed Carpenter Racing in the IndyCar Series.

During the 1997 Masters, Zoeller was asked about Tiger Woods and replied, "Tell him not to serve fried chicken next year...or collard greens or whatever they serve." The comments were widely condemned as racist and followed him for the rest of his life.

On February 13, 2007, Zoeller sued Josef Silny & Associates, a Miami-based credential evaluation firm, alleging defamatory edits had been made to his Wikipedia article from a computer at that firm in December 2006. The edits falsely claimed he had committed alcohol, drug, and domestic abuse. The firm said it would investigate, but Zoeller dropped the lawsuit in December 2007 after failing to identify the poster. He could not sue Wikipedia due to protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Zoeller married Diane, who died in 2021. They had four children. He died on November 27, 2025, at age 74.