Fuzzy Zoeller | |
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— Golfer — | |
Zoeller in October 2008
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Personal information | |
Full name | Frank Urban Zoeller, Jr. |
Nickname | Fuzzy |
Born | New Albany, Indiana |
November 11, 1951
Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st) |
Nationality | United States |
Residence | Floyds Knobs, Indiana |
Spouse | Diane Thornton Zoeller |
Children | 3 daughters, 1 son |
Career | |
College | Edison Junior College (FL) University of Houston |
Turned professional | 1973 |
Current tour(s) | Champions Tour |
Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Professional wins | 19 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 10 |
Champions Tour | 2 |
Other | 7 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 2) |
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Masters Tournament | Won: 1979 |
U.S. Open | Won: 1984 |
The Open Championship | 3rd: 1994 |
PGA Championship | 2nd: 1981 |
Achievements and awards | |
Bob Jones Award | 1985 |
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller, Jr. (/ˈzɛlər/; 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, which earned him the 1985 Bob Jones Award.
Contents
Life and career
Born and raised in Indianapolis, Zoeller was successful golfer while at New Albany High School, finishing as the runner-up in the 1970 state high school tournament.[1] 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. 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.[2]
He competed at the 1979, 1983 and 1985 Ryder Cups, collecting 1.5 points in 10 matches.
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.
Amateur wins (3)
- 1972 Florida State Junior College Championship (individual)
- 1973 Old Capital Invitational (Indiana)
- 1973 Indiana State Amateur
Professional wins (19)
PGA Tour wins (10)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jan 28, 1979 | Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational | 76-67-67-72=282 | −6 | 4 strokes | Billy Kratzert, 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 28, 1983 | Panasonic Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic | 63-70-70-64-73=340 | −15 | 4 strokes | Rex Caldwell |
6 | Jun 17, 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 | 3 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 |
Other wins (4)
- 1985 Skins Game
- 1986 Skins Game
- 1987 Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out Championship
- 2003 Tylenol Par-3 Challenge
Champions Tour wins (2)
Senior major championship is shown in bold.
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)
Major championships
Wins (2)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | Masters Tournament | 6 shot deficit | 70-71-69-70=280 | −8 | Playoff1 | Ed Sneed, Tom Watson |
1984 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | 71-66-69-70=276 | −4 | Playoff2 | 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).
Results timeline
Tournament | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
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Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | 1 |
U.S. Open | T38 | T44 | CUT | CUT |
The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
PGA Championship | DNP | T54 | 10 | T54 |
Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
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Masters Tournament | T19 | T43 | T10 | T20 | T31 | CUT | T21 | T27 | T16 | T26 |
U.S. Open | T53 | DNP | T15 | CUT | 1 | T9 | T15 | CUT | T8 | CUT |
The Open Championship | CUT | DNP | T8 | T14 | T14 | T11 | T8 | T29 | T52 | CUT |
PGA Championship | T41 | 2 | CUT | T6 | DNP | T54 | CUT | 64 | CUT | CUT |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
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Masters Tournament | T20 | T12 | T19 | T11 | T35 | CUT | CUT | T34 | T33 | CUT |
U.S. Open | T8 | T5 | CUT | T68 | T58 | T21 | DNP | T28 | CUT | CUT |
The Open Championship | DNP | T80 | DNP | T14 | 3 | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | T14 | CUT | DNP | T31 | T19 | 69 | T36 | CUT | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | 60 | CUT | CUT |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Summary
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
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Masters Tournament | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 18 |
U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 14 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 10 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 13 |
Totals | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 30 | 87 | 55 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1993 Masters – 1994 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)
Champions Tour major championships
Wins (1)
Year | Championship | Winning score | To par | Margin | Runners-up |
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2002 | Senior PGA Championship | 69-71-70-68=278 | −2 | 2 strokes | Hale Irwin, Bobby Wadkins |
References
- ^ "IHSAA Boys Golf State Champions". Indiana High School Athletic Association.
- ^ Verdi, Bob (July 17, 1994). "Fittingly, Zoeller Thrives On Sunny Day At Turnberry". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
External links
- Official website
- Fuzzy Zoeller at the PGA Tour official site
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