Fuzzy Zoeller obit

Fuzzy Zoeller, 1984 U.S. Open Champion, Dies at 74

 

He was not on the list.

Frank Urban “Fuzzy” Zoeller Jr., who won two major titles in playoffs, including the 1984 U.S. Open, died on Nov. 27 at the age of 74.

"Fuzzy was one of a kind," said USGA CEO Mike Whan. "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."

Born and raised in New Albany, Indiana, Zoeller received his nickname thanks to the initials of his first, middle and last names. He later played his collegiate golf at the University of Houston, then a Division I juggernaut, before turning professional in 1973. Six years later he became just the second golfer to win the Masters in his first appearance, following Gene Sarazen who did so in 1935. Then 27, Zoeller was tied with Tom Watson and Ed Sneed after 72 holes.

In the first sudden-death playoff at Augusta National, all three players began with pars on the 10th hole. After Sneed and Watson made par on the second playoff hole, Zoeller faced a 6-foot birdie putt to win the title. He memorably flung his putter high in the air after the ball dropped in the hole. “I’ve never been to heaven, and thinking back on my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go,” Zoeller once said. “I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.”

In 1984, the 32-year-old Zoeller was making his eighth U.S. Open appearance when the championship was contested on the iconic West Course of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. After shooting a 1-over par 71 in the first round, Zoeller fired a 66 on Friday, leaving him one stroke behind leader Hale Irwin, winner of the 1974 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. The leaderboard remained the same after Round 3, when Zoeller and Irwin both shot 69. Also shooting 69 on Saturday was Australian Greg Norman, who moved into third place, two strokes behind Irwin and one behind Zoeller.

During the final round, Irwin fell out of contention with a 79. That left Zoeller and Norman to duel down the stretch. Zoeller moved ahead of Norman by three shots on the front nine, but the long-hitting Australian bounced back to tie Zoeller for the lead. Playing one group in front of Zoeller, Norman fanned his 6-iron approach to the final hole into the grandstands right of the green. After receiving free relief from the temporary immovable obstruction, he chipped across the green and miraculously saved par by converting a 50-foot putt from the fringe. Zoeller, thinking that Norman had made birdie and taken the lead, began to wave a white towel while standing in the 18 fairway to jokingly signal 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 calmly two-putted for par on the 18th to force an 18-hole Monday playoff. 

In the 27th playoff in U.S. Open history, and the first since 1975, when Lou Graham defeated John Mahaffey at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club, Zoeller birdied the first two holes and Norman double-bogeyed the second, providing a lead that Zoeller never relinquished. Ahead by five strokes after nine holes, Zoeller shot a 67, the lowest round ever in a U.S. Open playoff, to finish eight strokes ahead of Norman, who waved his own white towel at Zoeller as the pair approached the 18th green.

“I’m not a great player, but I’m a damn good one,” Zoeller said after the victory.

In 1985 Zoeller was named winner of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the USGA in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.

Zoeller posted four other top-10 finishes in the U.S. Open, highlighted by a fifth-place showing in 1991 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. He won 10 PGA Tour events and then added two on the Champions Tour after turning 50, including the 2002 Senior PGA Championship.

Known for his gregarious nature and humor, Zoeller dealt with the stress of high-level competition in a distinct way. “If the pressure is getting to you, whistle,” he said. “In a barely audible way. It's the best way I know to let go of tension. Music gets your mind off the situation, and the act of whistling melts the tension out of your body.”

Zoeller is survived by his children Sunny, Heidi, Gretchen and Miles, and multiple grandchildren.

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).

He got into a little PC police trouble for a joke about Tiger Woods.