Zoeller was born and raised in New Albany, Indiana. While attending New Albany High School, he was a star golfer, finishing as the runner-up in the 1970 state high school tournament with a state record low round (67).[2]
For much of his career, Zoeller was famous for waving a white towel in mock surrender from the fairway of the 72nd hole of the 1984 U.S. Open, after Greg Norman holed a long putt on the 72nd green to tie Zoeller for the tournament lead. At the end of the 18-hole playoff the next day between Norman and Zoeller (which Zoeller won by 8 strokes), Norman waved a white towel himself, returning the joke.[7]
Zoeller was voted the 1985 winner of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.[8] He shared the 54-hole lead in the 1994 Open Championship after a 3rd round of 64, but finished the tournament in 3rd place, his best-ever finish in The Open. Zoeller missed an 8-foot (2.4m)birdie putt on the 18th green in his 3rd round at Turnberry which would have tied the record for the best single round at The Open.[9]
In 1997, during the 1997 Masters Tournament, Zoeller was asked about Tiger Woods and responded, "Tell him not to serve fried chicken next year...or collard greens or whatever they serve". The remarks were condemned as racist, and this incident haunted Zoeller for the rest of his life.[8]
Defamation lawsuit
On February 13, 2007, Zoeller sued Josef Silny & Associates, a foreign-credential evaluation firm based in Miami, Florida. The lawsuit alleged that defamatory statements appeared in the Wikipedia article about Zoeller in December 2006, originating from a computer at that firm.[16][17] According to the suit, the edits suggested Zoeller had committed acts including alcohol, drug, and domestic abuse.[18] Defendant Josef Silny said a computer consultant would investigate.[19][20] However, Zoeller dropped the lawsuit in December 2007 after being unsuccessful in finding the poster.[21] Zoeller was unable to sue Wikipedia for the statements due to protections accorded to providers of "interactive computer services" under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.[22]
Personal life and death
Zoeller was married to Diane, who died in 2021. He had four children.[3]
He died on November 27, 2025, at the age of 74.[23]
Awards and honors
In 1985, he was awarded the Bob Jones Award by the United States Golf Association.[8]
Amateur wins
1972 Florida State Junior College Championship (individual)[24]
1Defeated Sneed and Watson in a sudden-death playoff[5] - Zoeller 4-3 (−1), Sneed 4-4 (E) and Watson 4-4 (E). 2Defeated Norman in an 18-hole playoff - Zoeller 67 (–3), Norman 75 (+5).
↑The only two other golfers to have won The Masters on their debut at Augusta were the winners of the first two Masters tournaments Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen, in 1934 and 1935 respectively.
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur; 1942–1945 cancelled due to World War II
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