April 6, 2026, 10:00 a.m. ET
- Fuzzy Zoeller, the 1979 Masters champion, handed away 5 months in the past from cardiac arrest.
- Friends and household imagine his loss of life was additionally influenced by a damaged coronary heart following his spouse’s passing in 2021.
- Despite a 1997 controversy, many, together with Augusta National caddie Carl Jackson, bear in mind Zoeller for his kindness and humor.
Fuzzy Zoeller stood beneath Augusta National’s clubhouse oak tree.
It was 7:28 a.m., and Zoeller had awoken early for the 2025 honorary starter ceremony to kick off that yr’s Masters Tournament.
In lower than three hours, he’d depart Augusta, fly to Florida and forged a rod into the Atlantic. But, in what could be his final quarter-hour at Augusta National, the 1979 champion clinched a cup of espresso and gazed towards the No. 1 tee field.
“Jack, the tee is yours,” Chairman Fred Ridley stated.
“Maybe,” Nicklaus quipped.
Gary Player would center-cut his drive, as did Tom Watson, who Fuzz surprised in a three-man playoff 46 years prior.
As the ceremony concluded, Fuzzy turned and walked into the clubhouse.
“Does it get any better than that?” Zoeller requested.
In the summer time of 2019, Fuzzy underwent triple-bypass surgical procedure, which included a valve alternative. Five months in the past, on Thanksgiving morning, Frank Urban Zoeller’s coronary heart gave out a final time.
Fuzzy’s son-in-law, Chase Wright, stated it was a mix of cardiac arrest and a damaged coronary heart from the 2021 passing of his spouse, Diane, from Alzheimer’s.
Fuzzy’s shut buddy, Spider Miller, stated, “Fuzzy never left her side. Losing Diane crushed him.”
At 46, Miller certified for the 1997 Masters Tournament after successful the United States Mid-Amateur. Upon receiving his invitation, Spider reached out to his fellow Indianian.
“Fuzz said, ‘Who do you want to play a practice round with?’” Spider recalled. “I said, ‘Other than you, I’d love to play with Arnie.’”
On Monday in 1997, Fuzzy and Spider paired with Arnold and Jack.
On Tuesday, it was Fuzz, Spider, Arnie and Tom Watson.
For Wednesday’s Par 3 Contest, Fuzzy, Spider and Arnold grouped with one stipulation: any hole-in-one required a $1,000 payout.
For eight holes, no aces had been recorded, till the trio reached the 140-yard finale over Ike’s Pond, the place Fuzzy stated, “Get your money out, boys. I’m making this one.”
Fuzz wiggled twice, stored a cigarette in his mouth, and blasted into the Georgia filth.
As the ball disappeared, Arnold locked eyes with Spider.
“That lucky …,” Palmer uttered.
On the ninth inexperienced, Arnold opened his pockets and relinquished 10 payments.
Spider, uncertain of how Augusta National would view an novice with a wad of money, postponed his supply.
The subsequent morning, Spider was summoned to the Champions Locker Room. Sitting inside was the King.
“I didn’t see you pay Fuzzy,” Palmer stated. “You damn Indiana boys didn’t cut me up, did you?”
Spider missed the minimize on the 1997 Masters, however stayed to look at Fuzzy hack his solution to a Sunday 78.
After the spherical, the 2 beelined towards Augusta National’s clubhouse bar. Fuzz wanted a vodka.
“That’s when the reporter stopped him,” Spider stated. “Fuzzy was always a soundbite, and, unfortunately, those 30 seconds changed his life forever.”
Spider continued to the bar, as Fuzzy was halted on the clubhouse oak tree, and requested about Tiger’s demolition of Augusta’s report books.
“That little boy is driving well and putting well and doing everything it takes to win. So you know what you guys do? Pat him on the back, say congratulations, and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year.”
Zoeller walked away, before shooting back at the camera, “Or collard greens or whatever they serve.”
Inside Augusta National’s caddybarn, Carl Jackson – who looped Ben Crenshaw to wins in 1984 and 1995 – said the comments didn’t alter his view of Fuzzy.
“What Fuzzy said was wrong,” Jackson stated a day after Zoeller’s loss of life. “But how he treated people was right. Everyone at Augusta will tell you that.
“Fuzzy was trying to be funny. He said it the wrong way, he did; but I can’t remember anybody saying a negative word about Fuzzy.”
Zoeller leaned heavily on caddie
Eighteen years before 1997, Ben Crenshaw missed the cut at the 1979 Masters, giving Carl Jackson the weekend off.
Jackson, at 6-foot-5-inches, followed from the gallery, as his brother, Willy Jackson, caddied Ed Snead to a three-shot cushion with three to play.
Bogey.
Bogey.
Bogey.
“Those par putts on the last three holes, Ed never asked Willy for help,” Carl said. “Ed misread all three.
“You know what Fuzzy did? He had Jerry Beard read every single putt.”
Zoeller, a first-time competitor in 1979, leaned closely on Beard, who started caddying at Augusta National in 1957.
Beard, who died of cancer in 2023, said in 2022, “I know what I did for Fuzzy and he paid me well for it.”
Zoeller and Beard got into a three-man playoff, and when a birdie putt fell on No. 11, Fuzzy earned a lifetime invitation to Augusta.
As host of the Champions Dinner in 1980, Zoeller brought gag gifts as an attempt to quiet his nerves. Following the meal, he reached into a white bag and handed a bottle of Grecian Formula to Arnold. The gray-headed King burst into laughter, prompting the new champion to say, “Arnie, I can’t handle you getting old.”
Fuzzy attended his final supper in 2025, where Tiger was noticeably absent.
In Fuzz fashion, the ’79 champ ordered the Texas chili and a ribeye, while slinging one-liners about each dish.
“It was a five-alarm fire,” he said of the bean soup.
As for the main course, Fuzzy declared, “It must have been half a cow. They just chopped off the front legs and served me the full quarter.”
Of the 46 Champion Dinners post-1979, Zoeller was absent only once: the November Masters, five months after his open-heart surgery.
“I’m one of those high-risk deals,” Fuzzy stated in October 2020. “I’ve been asking myself a lot recently, ‘Is it worth dying to attend the Champions Dinner?’ You know, I almost said yes.”
