Fuzzy Zoeller dead at 74: Masters champion tarnished by racist Tiger Woods joke passes away

Fuzzy Zoeller, the two-time major champion whose career was tarnished by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died at the age of 74, according to a longtime colleague.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but Brian Naugle, tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoeller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.

Zoeller, whose wife Diane died in 2021, was the last player to win the Masters in his first attempt in the three-man playoff in 1979. He famously waved a white towel at Winged Foot in 1984 when he thought Greg Norman had beaten him, but he beat Norman in an 18-hole playoff the next day.

But it was the 1997 Masters, where Woods cruised to the most dominant victory in Augusta National history, that changed Zoeller’s popularity.

He had finished his round and had a drink in hand under the oak tree next to the clubhouse when he was stopped by CNN and asked what he thought of the 21-year-old Woods.

‘This little boy drives well and rides well. He does whatever it takes to win. So, do you know what you do when he comes here? You pat him on the back, congratulate him, enjoy it, and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Do you understand?” Zoeller said.

But his legendary career was tarnished by a racially insensitive joke made about Tiger Woods in 1997.

He smiled and snapped his fingers and as he walked away he turned and said: ‘Or kale or whatever works.’

Zoeller apologized, but Woods was traveling and it took him two weeks to comment as the controversy grew. Zoeller later said he received death threats for years from then on.

Writing for Golf Digest in 2008, he said it was ‘the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.’

“If people want me to feel the same pain that I project onto others, I’m here to tell you they’re doing whatever they want,” Zoeller wrote.

‘I cried many times. I have apologized many times for the things I said as a joke and did not reflect who I am. I have hundreds of friends, including people of different races, who can attest to this.

‘Still, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this will never go away.’

This overshadowed a career filled with two illustrious major championships, eight other PGA Tour titles and a Senior PGA Championship among two PGA Tour Champion titles.

Golf icon John Daly posted a tribute on social media, writing: ‘To my best friend and father figure who has helped me tons in my life… I will miss you beyond words. ‘Rest in peace Fuzzy.’

Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters in his first try in the three-man playoff in 1979.

Zoeller has three children, including daughter Gretchen, with whom he played in the PNC Championship.

He made his Masters debut in 1979 and advanced to a triple play-off after Ed Sneed birdied the last three holes. Zoeller beat Sneed and Tom Watson for birdie on the second playoff hole and threw his putter into the air.

Zoeller once said: “I’ve never been to heaven, and looking back, I probably won’t have the chance to go either.” ‘I think this is the closest I can come to winning the Masters.’

Zoeller was locked in a duel with Norman at Winged Foot in 1984, playing in the back group and watching Norman hit putt after putt. When he saw Norman make a 40-meter dash on the 18th, he assumed it was for birdie and, in a moment of sportsmanship, began waving the white towel.

But then he realized it was equal and Zoeller equalized to force a play-off. Zoeller beat him by eight shots in the 18-hole playoff. Zoeller’s only regret was that he gave the towel to a child after finishing the regulation.

‘If you see an old, white towel lying around, bring it to me, okay?’ he once said.

He was born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr. in New Albany, Indiana. Zoeller said his father was known only as ‘Fuzzy’ and that he was given the same name.

He played at a college in Florida before turning professional and joining the powerhouse Houston golf team.

Zoeller has three children, including daughter Gretchen, with whom he played in the PNC Championship.

In 1985, Zoeller was awarded the USGA’s Bob Jones Award, the organization’s highest honor given for outstanding sportsmanship.