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Top Golfers from each state: Indiana Golf and Fuzzy Zoeller

By Kasey Kuhrts

25 MAR 1994: FUZZY ZOELLER CHIPS ONTO THE 18TH GREEN DURING THE RAIN DELAYED SECOND ROUND OF THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AT TPC SAWGRASS, PONTE VEDRA, FL. ZOELLER''S 5-UNDER 67 MOVED HIM INTO THE MID-DAY LEAD AT 11-UNDER Mandatory Credit: Gary Newkirk/ALLSP
25 MAR 1994: FUZZY ZOELLER CHIPS ONTO THE 18TH GREEN DURING THE RAIN DELAYED SECOND ROUND OF THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP AT TPC SAWGRASS, PONTE VEDRA, FL. ZOELLER''S 5-UNDER 67 MOVED HIM INTO THE MID-DAY LEAD AT 11-UNDER Mandatory Credit: Gary Newkirk/ALLSP /
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Our next entry in the top golfer series brings us to Indiana and determining the best golfer from The Hoosier State was rather simple, and the honor goes to Fuzzy Zoeller.

If Fuzzy Zoeller would have been born just four miles south, he would have made our list representing a different state. Born in New Albany, Indiana, only the Ohio River lays between New Albany and Louisville, Kentucky.

Zoeller was another easy choice for his state, just like Ed Oliver was for Delaware. But unlike Delaware, Indiana has produced other professional golfers and multiple PGA Tour winners.

Bo Van Pelt, Mike Sullivan, and most recently Tyler Duncan have all won on the PGA Tour, but none of their careers have come close to the one of Zoeller’s. The only slight argument that can be made against Fuzzy is for Chick Evans.

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Chick Evans is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and most notably won the 1916 U.S. Open as well as the 1916 and 1920 U.S. Amateur. Evans won 22 career events, however most of those events were amateurs. Zoeller has more career professional wins and majors, and he did it in a more modern era, which is why we felt Zoeller was the right choice.

What may be Fuzzy Zoeller’s biggest claim to fame was the second professional win of his career. In his first ever start in the event, Zoeller won the 1979 Masters in a playoff over Ed Sneed and Tom Watson. Zoeller is one of only three players ever to win the Masters in their first start.

At the end of the 1979 season, Zoeller was a member of the victorious 1979 Ryder Cup team, although he was only able to earn one point for the team. Zoeller would go on to be a member of the 1983 and 1985 Ryder Cup teams as well.

In 1984 Zoeller won his sixth PGA Tour event, and second major when he won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. And just like his first major, it took a playoff to get it done. Zoeller beat Hall of Famer Greg Norman in an 18-hole playoff the following Monday to secure the major victory.

Fuzzy Zoeller would go on to win four more PGA Tour events in the next two years, but never won another PGA Tour event after 1986.

In 1985 Zoeller won the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the USGA, and is given for outstanding sportsmanship in the game of golf. However, just over 10 years later, Zoeller found himself in hot water after making comments about Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters that some found to be racist.

In 2002, as a member of the Champions Tour, Zoeller won the Senior PGA Championship, for his first win on the tour. Fuzzy would add another Champions Tour win in 2004 and played his last official event in 2017.

At the end of the day, Fuzzy Zoeller represented the Hoosier State better than anyone else in the history of the PGA Tour. Winning two majors, finishing top three or better in the other two as well as the Players Championship, being a part of two victorious, three total Ryder Cup teams, and a Senior PGA Champion.

Next. Best Golfers from Each State: Illinois Golf and Bill Mehlhorn. dark

Although there could be little debate, Fuzzy Zoeller is our selection as the best golfer from the Hoosier State.

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