Fuzzy Zoeller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Birth: | November 11, 1951, New Albany, Indiana |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in |
| Nationality: | American |
| Residence: | Floyds Knobs, Indiana |
| Career | |
| Turned Professional: | 1973 |
| Current Tour: | |
| Professional wins: | |
| Majors: | U.S. Open 1984 Masters 1979 |
| Awards: | Bob Jones Award 1985 |
Frank Urban "Fuzzy" Zoeller, Jr. (born November 11, 1951) is an American professional golfer. He is one of three golfers to have won The Masters 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
Zoeller was born in New Albany, Indiana. He attended the University of Houston and became a professional golfer in 1973. He has won two major championships: the 1979 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club and the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club.
Zoeller is one of only three golfers to have won The Masters in his first appearance in the event. The other two were the winners of the first two Masters, Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen. Zoeller was voted the 1985 Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
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.
Controversies
At the 1997 Masters tournament, Zoeller made a controversial remark regarding Tiger Woods. After finishing tied for 34th place with a score of 78, Zoeller, referring to the following year's Master's Club Champion's Dinner, for which the defending champion selects the menu, said, "That little boy is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it?" Zoeller then smiled, snapped his fingers, and walked away before turning and added, "or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve." [1] K-Mart and Dunlop ceased endorsing Zoeller after the incident.[2][3]
"I know Fuzzy, and it was obvious to me that he was attempting to be funny," number-one ranked golf pro Tom Lehman said. "He probably would have said the same thing to Tiger's face and they both would have yukked it up...[But] it wasn't the best timing, and it wasn't in good taste. It's not appropriate."[1]
"I've been on the tour for 23 years and anybody who knows me knows that I am a jokester," Zoeller said. "It's too bad that something I said in jest was turned into something it's not. But I didn't mean anything by it and I'm sorry if I offend anybody. If Tiger is offended by it, I apologize to him, too. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Tiger as a person and an athlete."
When Tiger was asked about it he replied "I'm sure Fuz didn't mean anything derogatory, as a matter of fact I thought it was funny." Zoeller later offered an apology directly to Woods, which Woods accepted.[4]
On February 13, 2007, Zoeller sued the Miami foreign-credential evaluation firm of Josef Silny & Associates. The lawsuit alleged that defamatory statements appeared in the Wikipedia article about Zoeller in December 2006, originating from a computer at that firm.[5][6] According to the suit, the edits suggested Zoeller had committed acts of alcohol, drug, and domestic abuse.[7] Defendant Josef Silny said a computer consultant would investigate.[8][9]
PGA Tour wins
- 1979 (2) Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational, The Masters
- 1981 (1) Colonial National Invitation
- 1983 (2) Sea Pines Heritage, Panasonic Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic
- 1984 (1) U.S. Open
- 1985 (1) Hertz Bay Hill Classic
- 1986 (3) Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, Sea Pines Heritage, Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic
Major championships are shown in bold.
Champions Tour wins
Senior major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins
- 1972 Florida State Junior College Championship (individual)
- 1973 Indiana State Amateur
- 1985 Skins Game
- 1986 Skins Game
- 1987 Merrill Lynch Shoot-Out Championship
- 2002 Senior Slam
- 2003 Tylenol Par-3 Challenge
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | CUT | 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
References
- ^ "Golfer says comments about Woods 'misconstrued'" (April 21, 1997), CNN.com
- ^ Staff report (April 23, 1997). "Kmart Drops Zoeller." New York Times
- ^ Sirak, Ron (Feb 15, 1998). Daly, Zoeller are birds of a feather. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
- ^ Drape, Joe (May 21, 1997). Woods Meets Zoeller For Lunch. New York Times
- ^ Golfer Zoeller sues law firm for Wikipedia posting (February 22, 2007), MiamiHerald.com
- ^ Golfer Sues Over Vandalized Wikipedia Page. (February 22, 2007), The Smoking Gun
- ^ "Fuzzy teed off", February 22, 2007, Associated Press hosted by Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
- ^ Zoeller sues to identify the author of a disputed entry on Wikipedia. PGA.com (2007-02-22). Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
- ^ Wikipedia entry causes pro-golfer Fuzzy Zoeller to sue. iTWire. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
External links
- Official site
- Profile on the PGA Tour's official site
- Golf Stars Online - links to features and profiles
- Fuzzy Zoeller's Hole In One
| History of Wikipedia | |
|---|---|
| Main articles | Bomis · Nupedia · Wikipedia · Wikimedia Foundation · Wikimania · MediaWiki |
| People | Jimmy Wales · Larry Sanger · Tim Shell · Wikipedia community |
| Events and individuals | Alan Mcilwraith · Blocking of Wikipedia in mainland China · Congressional staffer edits to Wikipedia · Essjay controversy · Henryk Batuta · Joshua Gardner · Seigenthaler controversy · QuakeAID |
| Related projects and forks | Citizendium · Enciclopedia Libre · Interpedia · WikiZnanie · Wikinfo · Wikitruth · Wikiweise |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Zoeller, Fuzzy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zoeller, Frank Urban Jr. |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American professional golfer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1951 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Albany, Indiana |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
