Fuzzy Zoller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most outgoing figures whose career was tarnished by racist and insensitive jokes about Tiger Woods, has died, a longtime colleague announced. He was 74 years old.
A cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Nogle, tournament director for the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.
“The PGA Tour is saddened by the passing of Fuzzy Zoller. Fuzzy was a true original player whose talent and charisma left an indelible mark on the world of golf,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “Fuzzy was a true original player whose talent and charisma left an indelible mark on the world of golf. Fuzzy’s exceptional competitive ability and sense of humor endeared him to fans and fellow players alike. We celebrate his incredible accomplishments and extend our deepest condolences to his family.”
Zoller came out of the three-man playoff in 1979 and was the last player to win the Masters on his first try. During the 1984 U.S. Open, Greg Norman famously waved a white towel at Winged Foot when he thought he had beaten him. However, Zoller went on to defeat Norman in an 18-hole playoff the next day.
It was what happened at the 1997 Masters that influenced his post-retirement legacy.
As Woods approaches a turning point in golf with the most dominant victory in Augusta National history, Zueller was asked by CNN to put the 21-year-old golfer’s performance into context.
“That kid drives well, he putsts well, he does everything he needs to do to win. So you know what you’re going to do when he gets here? You pat him on the back, congratulate him, have fun and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year (at the Champions Dinner), okay?” Zueller said.
Zular smiled and snapped his fingers. As he left, he turned around and added, “Or collard greens, or whatever they offer.”
These statements bothered Zoller. He later apologized, but 11 years later told Golf Digest that he had received death threats over his comments, calling the situation “the worst thing that ever happened to me in my life.”
“If anyone wants me to feel the same hurt that I project onto others, I’m here to tell them that they’ve got their way,” Zoller wrote. “I cried so many times. I apologized so many times that the words I said in jest didn’t reflect who I was. I have hundreds of friends, including people of color, who can attest to that.
“Still, I accepted the fact that this case would never go away.”
Zuler won 10 times on the PGA Tour, adding two major championships and two PGA Champion titles.
He was born Frank Urban Zoller Jr. in New Albany, Indiana. Zoller said her father was known only as “Fuzzy” and that she was given the same name.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
