Fuzzy Zoeller, two-time major winner haunted by racist Tiger Woods joke, dies aged 74
Fuzzy Zoeller, the two-time major champion whose genial public persona was overshadowed by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods that came to define the latter part of his career, has died aged 74.No cause of death was immediately available.Brian Naugle, tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston and a longtime colleague, said Zoeller’s daughter notified him of the death on Thursday.Zoeller, born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr in New Albany, Indiana, was one of golf’s most outgoing characters across a career that delivered historic highs.He was the first player in more than four decades to win the Masters on his debut, claiming the 1979 green jacket after a three-man playoff.
Five years later at the US Open at Winged Foot, he outlasted Greg Norman in an 18-hole Monday playoff after famously waving a white towel from the fairway, believing Norman had just holed a birdie putt to beat him.It turned out to be a par, and Zoeller won by eight shots the next day.US president Donald Trump, who often praised Zoeller, posted a tribute on Truth Social.“Very sad to hear that the highly respected and beloved Professional Golfer, Fuzzy Zoeller, has passed away,” he wrote, citing Zoeller’s major victories and calling him “a truly remarkable person and player”.But for all of Zoeller’s success and easygoing charm, it was the 1997 Masters that irrevocably altered his standing in the sport.
As Woods marched toward a transformative, record-breaking victory at Augusta National, a relaxed Zoeller – drink in hand – was stopped by a CNN crew near the clubhouse and asked for his thoughts.His reply, delivered with a smile and a snap of his fingers, sparked immediate outrage.“That little boy is driving well and he’s putting well,” Zoeller said, before adding that Woods should be congratulated, then joking that officials should “tell him not [to] serve fried chicken next year … or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”Zoeller apologized, but the blowback only grew as it took Woods two weeks to address the remarks while traveling.Zoeller later said he received death threats for years.
In Golf Digest in 2008, he called it “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life,” adding: “If people wanted me to feel the same hurt I projected on others, I’m here to tell you they got their way.”He said he had “cried many times” and offered “countless” apologies for words he described as a misguided attempt at humor that did not reflect who he was.“Still, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this incident will never, ever go away.”Zoeller’s playing record extended well beyond his two major triumphs.He won eight additional PGA Tour titles, captured two PGA Tour Champions victories including a Senior PGA Championship, and represented the United States in three Ryder Cups.
Known for playing quickly and whistling between shots, he cultivated an image of a player who both competed hard and relished the walk,His 1979 Masters win remains one of Augusta’s most enduring debuts,Arriving as a first-time competitor, he reached a playoff after Ed Sneed bogeyed the final three holes,On the second extra hole, Zoeller stiffed his approach to six feet and rolled in the winning birdie, tossing his putter skyward in celebration,“I’ve never been to heaven,” he once said.
“I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.”At Winged Foot five years later, he believed Norman’s 40-plus-foot par putt on the 18th was a birdie that had beaten him and responded with a theatrical white-towel wave from the fairway.After an official told him the score, Zoeller forced the playoff and dominated, though he later joked that he regretted giving away the now-famous towel.Zoeller played college golf first at Edison Junior College and later at the University of Houston, then a powerhouse programme.He turned professional in 1973.
His wife, Diane, died in 2021.He is survived by three children, including his daughter Gretchen, with whom he often played in the PNC Championship.He was awarded the USGA’s Bob Jones Award for sportsmanship in 1985.
‘Unelected power’ of ultra-rich is reshaping British politics, report claims
Structural corruption and the rise of “conduits for unelected power” are reshaping British politics, according to a stark report from the Equality Trust.Unelected influence has increased over the past two decades, the report claims, driven by the growing political clout of the ultra-rich and the institutions that enable it.Priya Sahni-Nicholas, the co-executive director of the trust, said: “Our new Concentration of Power Index shows that wealth concentration aligns with power. Our index rises almost exactly in step with increases in the top 1% share of wealth. This correlation is strong and statistically significant
Keir Starmer says Labour ‘kept to our manifesto’ over budget tax rises
Keir Starmer has conceded that the budget “asked everybody to contribute” but argued that it had “done it in a fair way” as he sought to rebuff claims that Labour had broken its tax promises.The prime minister said the Labour government had “kept to our manifesto” despite raising taxes by £26bn, including by freezing income tax and national insurance thresholds for an extra three years.Labour had promised during the election campaign not to raise taxes on working people. Asked whether he would apologise for breaking that promise, Starmer said: “I accept the challenge that we’ve asked everybody to contribute. I want to be really clear on why we’ve done that,” he told Sky News
Is Farage right to claim that racism allegations are response to a dislike of his politics?
Nigel Farage has again denied allegations of racism as a schoolboy and repeated his claim that some had been concocted because people disliked his politics.During a press conference, he snapped at one reporter who asked about the issue, saying: “I think we’ve gone quite a long way towards answering all this, don’t you?”Farage, who prides himself on answering numerous questions at press conferences, took 10 this time, but did not include any from the Guardian.So what did he say – and is it true?The claim: Farage said the director Peter Ettedgui is the “one person that said I directly abused him”.He added: “One person says they were hurt, and if they feel they were hurt, then I’m genuinely sorry. But I never, ever, ever would have said or done anything like that directly to a human being
OBR’s leak was the only leak Reeves wasn’t responsible for in pre-budget shambles
Just maybe Rachel Reeves had a cunning plan all along. Most budgets have a tendency to be moderately well received on the day, only to fall apart when the economist wonks have had a chance to go through the small print 24 hours later. Rachel has tried a rather different approach. The budget of dialectics. Her mission has been to get her budget to fall apart in the weeks and months before she delivered it
Starmer calls on Farage to apologise to his alleged victims of racial abuse at school
Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage to apologise to his school contemporaries who claim the Reform leader racially abused them while at Dulwich College.The Guardian reported last week the testimony of Peter Ettedgui, who said a 13-year-old Farage “would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Starmer said: “[Farage’s] explanation in recent days in relation to the stories about what he may have said in the past is unconvincing to say the least.“He says he never engaged with racism with intent. ‘With intent’
Racism claims against Nigel Farage are no surprise to us | Letters
I was at a private boys’ school similar to Dulwich College, at the same time as Nigel Farage. I was also in the combined cadet force. The sorts of racist behaviour described in your article were normal (‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school, 18 November).As the child of a refugee from the Nazis, I chose not only to ignore but even to join in with some of the antisemitism, much to my shame these days. It is striking that, with the exception of Chloe Deakin, teachers at the time seem to have viewed Farage’s behaviour as more like “high spirits” or “naughtiness”
‘I didn’t even know this type of attack existed’: more than 200 women allege drugging by senior French civil servant
Horrific death of Kardell Lomas sparks urgent calls for new independent oversight of police
UK gambling firms make extra £1bn from punters amid calls for tax rises
CPS to train staff on ‘spectrum of abuse’ in violence against women and girls
Ministers urged to apologise after review finds systemic failures led to carer’s allowance crisis
What is prostate cancer and how is it diagnosed in the UK?