Frank Zoeller Jr. might just be the most affable man ever to join the PGA. A polar opposite to the fastidious upper class golfer stereotype, Zoeller acts more as an “everyman” on the course than a professional athlete. Indeed, his light-hearted play makes his nickname “Fuzzy” all the more apt.
Whistling down PGA greens all over the world and tossing signed golf balls to kids the New Albany native has made a name for himself for his talent but also for a personality which seems to hinge around a love for the game of golf.
Joking with other golfers, one thing’s for sure no one can say Zoeller doesn’t have a good time on the course, and, it shows having fans around the world that proclaim themselves “Fuzzy Fans.”
A graduate of the University of Houston, those fans first started to take notice in a big way in 1979 after the young golfer won his first Masters. It should be noted that this was the guy’s first Masters tournament, since that ’79 victory no rookie to the tournament has won it in fact.
However, his trajectory was already the talk of many local sports analysts having won three tournaments as an Amateur prior to making the jump to the pros, claiming victories in the 1973 Indiana State championship, the 1973 Indiana Old Capitol Invitational, and the 1972 Florida State Junior College Championship.
What followed after his Masters victory though was a golf resume that few of his peers can claim, winning two back to back “Skins Games” in ’85 and ’86, being awarded the Bobby Jones award in ’85, a Senior PGA championship and Senior Slam Championship both in 2002, The Tylenol Shootout championship the following year, a Mastercard championship in 2004, and a 2007 Senior Skins game win.
Today, Zoeller’s area courses have become big draws locally, as the golfer has been known to still stop by Sellersburg, Indiana to Covered Bridge Golf Club as well as Memphis, Indiana’s Champions Pointe Golf Club.
Outside Sources
