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Fuzzy Zoeller

United States · born , New Albany, Indiana, USA · died

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1979 The Masters
  • Last major 1984 U.S. Open
  • Ryder Cup 3 Cups · 1-8-1 · 1.5 points (15.0%)
  • Runner-up in majors 1 time

Wins

  1. 1979 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 280 (-8) · won a playoff against Ed Sneed and Tom Watson
  2. 1984 U.S. Open Winged Foot G.C. · 276 (-4) · won a playoff against Greg Norman

Near misses

  1. 1981 PGA Championship Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course) · runner-up to Larry Nelson · 277
  2. 1982 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T8 · 287 (-1)
  3. 1986 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T8 · 289 (+9)
  4. 1994 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished 3 · 271 (-9)

Ryder Cup

3 Cups, 10 matches: 1 won, 8 lost, 1 halved, 1.5 points. Foursomes 0-2-0, four-ball 1-4-0, singles 0-2-1.

  1. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) USA · USA won 17–11 · 1-4-0, 1 point · automatic
  2. 1983 PGA National Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points · automatic
  3. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic

Rivals

Beat him

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Larry Nelson's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1979 Masters Ed Sneed led by three strokes with three holes to play but bogeyed the 16th, 17th and 18th to fall into a three-way tie.
  2. 1979 Masters Fuzzy Zoeller won the first sudden-death playoff in Masters history with a birdie on the second extra hole, in his first Masters appearance.
  3. 1983 Ryder Cup Ballesteros hit a 3-wood from a fairway bunker about 240 yards out on 18 to halve his match with Fuzzy Zoeller; Nicklaus called it the finest shot he had ever seen.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1984 U.S. Open

    Winged Foot G.C., Mamaroneck, NY · 276 (-4) · won a playoff against Greg Norman (18 holes, 67–75)

    Chosen by rule: his most recent major win. Year page: 1984.

    Career line, 1979–1994

    Masters
    1979 Masters: won
    PGA Championship
    1981 PGA Championship: runner-up to Larry Nelson
    U.S. Open
    1984 U.S. Open: won
    The Open
    1982 The Open: finished T81986 The Open: finished T81994 The Open: finished 3
    Ryder Cup
    1979 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-4-01983 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-11985 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-3-0
    1980198519901995

    9 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Fuzzy Zoeller was born on November 11, 1951, in New Albany, Indiana, USA. Zoeller won 2 major championships: 1 Masters (1979) and 1 U.S. Open (1984). Zoeller played in 3 Ryder Cups for USA (1979, 1983, 1985), winning 1, losing 8 and halving 1 of 10 matches for 1.5 points.

    See Fuzzy Zoeller in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1979 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 280 (-8) · won a playoff against Ed Sneed and Tom Watson (Hole 10: all three par; Hole 11: Zoeller birdie to win, Watson par, Sneed did not finish the hole)
    2. 1984 U.S. Open Winged Foot G.C., Mamaroneck, NY · 276 (-4) · won a playoff against Greg Norman (18 holes, 67–75)

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1981 PGA Championship Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course) · runner-up to Larry Nelson · 277
    2. 1982 The Open Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · finished T8 · 287 (-1)
    3. 1986 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T8 · 289 (+9)
    4. 1994 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished 3 · 271 (-9)

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 5 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Zoeller played 3 Ryder Cups for USA: 10 matches, 1 won, 8 lost, 1 halved, 1.5 points (15.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 0-2-0, four-ball 1-4-0, singles 0-2-1 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1979 The Greenbrier (Greenbrier Course) USA · USA won 17–11 · 1-4-0, 1 point · automatic
    2. 1983 PGA National Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points · automatic
    3. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) USA · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 0-3-0, 0 points · automatic

    Partners, with matches played together: Hubert Green (3), Lee Trevino (2), Mark Hayes (1), Gil Morgan (1).

    Masters Champions Dinner

    No menu has been recorded for the 1980 (as the 1979 champion) dinner. Until about 1986 champions did not design the meal: the club served its standard menu.

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    2. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    3. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    5. Wikipedia: Fuzzy Zoeller
    6. golfcompendium.com: pga tour career wins
    7. where2golf.com: fuzzy zoeller
    8. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    9. pga.com: list masters champions
    10. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    11. golfcompendium.com: 1979 masters tournament
    12. Wikipedia: 1979 Masters Tournament
    13. vault.si.com: fuzzy came in loud and clear no one got a better reception from the ga
    14. washingtonpost.com: d27eb8bf abab 43b6 a519 1ea6071ffab4
    15. linksmagazine.com
    16. sports.yahoo.com: only three rookies ever won 140043203
    17. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    18. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    19. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    20. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    21. golfcompendium.com: what is the cut at the masters
    22. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    23. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    24. golfcompendium.com
    25. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    26. R&A 1982
    27. R&A 1986
    28. R&A 1994
    29. GC: 1979 ryder cup
    30. Wikipedia: 1979 Ryder Cup
    31. GC: 1983 ryder cup
    32. Wikipedia: 1983 Ryder Cup
    33. GC: 1985 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1985 Ryder Cup