Fuzzy Zoeller, a 10-time PGA Tour winner and the last player to win the Masters in his first attempt, died on Thanksgiving Day. He was 74.
Zoeller won the 1979 Masters in a three-way playoff with Ed Sneed and Tom Watson with a birdie on the second extra hole after Sneed bogeyed the last three holes in regulation. “I’ve never been to heaven, and thinking back on my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go,” Zoeller once said. “I guess winning the Masters is as close as I’m going to get.”
Zoeller subsequently won the 1984 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, defeating Greg Norman by eight strokes in an 18-hole playoff. Zoeller famously waved a white towel from the 18th fairway when he thought Norman, playing in the group ahead, had beaten him by making a long putt on the 72nd hole.
Known for his wisecracking persona, Zoeller created a firestorm during the 1997 Masters when he made comments about Tiger Woods that were widely deemed to be racist as Woods was on the way to an historic victory at Augusta National. Zoeller, who apologized, said he received death threats following the comments and later called the episode “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life.” Read More
Kiara Romero, the world’s top-ranked female amateur, was among 12 players the USGA invited to a practice session for the 2026 Curtis Cup. The session will take place Jan. 16-18 at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, site of next year’s biennial match pitting top amateurs from the United States against their counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland.
Romero, winner of the 2025 Mark H. McCormack Medal, is the only player already assured a place on the squad. Four members of the 2024 team – Anna Davis, Jasmine Koo, Catherine Park and Asterisk Talley – were also among the invitees. READ MORE
Tap-ins
CBS Sports has elevated former PGA Tour player Colt Knost to an analyst role on its golf broadcasts following the recent retirement of Ian Baker-Finch. Knost, 40, has worked for CBS as an on-course reporter since 2019. READ MORE
Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, the designers responsible for restorations at several prominent tournament venues, were added to the stable of architects designing virtual holes for Season 2 of the TGL indoor golf league. READ MORE
The PGA Tour named Josh Swanson, a longtime volunteer at the 3M Open in Minnesota, as its 2025 Volunteer of the Year. The tour also named the Hilton Head Island Deep Well Project, a non-profit beneficiary of the RBC Heritage, as its 2025 Charity of the Year. READ MORE
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America named Bob and Joe Alonzi the recipients of its 2026 Col. John Morley Award. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity