This article was curated by It’s That Part, where we highlight the truth in every fact—curated for deeper insight and critical reflection.
Fuzzy Zoeller, a world champion golfer best known for making racist remarks about Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters Tournament, has died. He was 74. According to The Guardian, Zoeller’s daughter confirmed the news to Brian Naugle, the golfer’s longtime colleague and tournament director of the Insperity Invitational in Houston. Zoeller’s cause of death was not immediately available.
Here’s more on his career and the racist joke that tainted his legacy.
Zoeller called Woods a ‘little boy’ and told an official to ‘tell him not to serve fried chicken next year’
At the 1997 Masters Tournament, as Woods was nearing a record-breaking win at Augusta National, Zoeller was approached by CNN and asked to share his thoughts on the then-new golfer, The Guardian reported.
“That little boy is driving well and he’s putting well,” Zoeller said.
He added that Woods should be celebrated, but joked that the officials should “tell him not [to] serve fried chicken next year … or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.”
His comments received backlash and Zoeller later apologized for the racially insensitive joke, but the incident sparked lasting controversy. He later said that he received death threats for years afterward.
Reflecting on the controversy in 2008, Zoeller penned an essay for Golf Digest in which he said it was “the worst thing I’ve gone through in my entire life.”
“If people wanted me to feel the same hurt I projected on others, I’m here to tell you they got their way,” he added.
Zoeller also revealed that he “cried many times” amid the backlash and said his comments “aren’t a reflection of who I am.”
“I have hundreds of friends, including people of color, who will attest to that,” he explained.
The world champion golfer shared that he had “come to terms with the fact that this incident will never, ever go away.”
Zoeller was the first golfer in 40 years to win the Masters on his debut
According to The Guardian, Zoeller was born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr. in New Albany, Indiana. In 1979, he became the first golfer in more than 40 years to win the Masters Tournament on his debut. He went on to win the U.S. Open the following year and throughout the course of his career, he won eight additional PGA Tour titles, claimed two PGA Tour Champions victories including a Senior PGA Championship, and participated in three Ryder Cup tournaments
