Fuzzy Zoeller, two-time major champion haunted by racist joke about Tiger Woods, dies at 74

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via WTOP

Fuzzy Zoeller, two-time major champion haunted by racist joke about Tiger Woods, dies at 74

The Associated Press
November 27, 2025, 12:50 PM


FILE - In this April 6, 2006, file photo, Fuzzy Zoeller encourages the crowd to be quiet on the second hole during first round play at the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)(AP/MORRY GASH)

Fuzzy Zoeller, a two-time major champion and one of golf’s most gregarious characters whose career was tainted by a racially insensitive joke about Tiger Woods, has died, according to a longtime colleague. He was 74. ... A cause of death was not immediately available. Brian Naugle, the tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston, said Zoeller’s daughter called him Thursday with the news.

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

But it was the 1997 Masters that changed his popularity. ... Woods was on his way to a watershed moment in golf with the most dominant victory in Augusta National history. Zoeller was praising the performance in a CNN interview when he ended it by saying: “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 serve fried chicken next year. Got it?” ... He smiled and snapped his fingers, and as he was walking away he turned and said, “Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”

That moment haunted him the rest of his career. Zoeller wrote for Golf Digest in 2008: “I’ve cried many times. I’ve apologized countless times for words said in jest that just aren’t a reflection of who I am. I have hundreds of friends, including people of color, who will attest to that. Still, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this incident will never, ever go away.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Read more: https://wtop.com/sports/2025/11/fuzzy-zoeller-two-time-major-champion-haunted-by-racist-joke-about-tiger-woods-dies-at-74/

[SaydiTom]

1. in order to highlight the racist joke, trump's going to give him Presidential Medal of Freedom

[murielm99]

2. I am not so forgiving of people who

make racist jokes or statements. If it wasn't in his heart and mind, it would not have come out of his mouth.

[Stacey Grove]

8. One of the structural supports of white privilege:

some white people know better, but they still do it, then try to "contextualize" it after the fact.

You can see it in this very thread.

Cor fucking blimey.

[Orange Buffoon]

3. Zoeller's remark was widely misunderstood

He was referring to the bylaw at Augusta National which states that if the new champion does not specify a menu to be served at the champion's dinner, in the lack of such guidance the club serves "a traditional Southern meal," which includes fried chicken and collard greens. Zoeller was trying to say, "Pick a menu, because I'm tired of eating the same Southern meal they serve in the absence of one." Notice his quote said "Don't let 'em serve," and "whatever the hell they serve," not "whatever the hell they eat."

[Aristus]

5. One could argue that his timing really sucked.

Plus, not being aware of the potential for backlash to what he said, in whatever spirit and in what ever context he said it.

[yardwork]

6. That actually makes sense.

[Blasphemer]

7. Thanks for the additional context

It says a lot that he apologized rather than try to explain. Apologizing for the impact vs. the intent. May he R.I.P.

[surfered]

4. He had a good attitude. Always liked him.