Suddenly the world knows Frank Urban Zoeller, and golf followers have been smiling ever since. Fuzzy Zoeller has that effect on people, and it was that way even before he won the 1979 Masters. Although those who follow golf closely have known Fuzzy as a "good ol' boy" from Indiana who adopted his nickname from his initials, his fame was somewhat limited until his come-from-behind sudden-death victory in the Masters.

No newcomer to the game, Zoeller started playing golf when he was three and entered his first tournament at the ripe age of five. After graduating from high school in New Albany, Ind., where he was a golf star, Fuzzy enrolled in Edison Junior College, Ft. Myers, Fla., and then went on to the University of Houston. He turned professional in 1973 and gained PGA playing privileges in the 1974 qualifying school.

After a rookie campaign in which he earned $7,318, Fuzzy climbed into the top 60 money-winners' bracket in 1976, earning $52,557 for 56th place. That year he also shot his way into the record book when he carded eight straight birdies in the first round of the Quad Cities Open to tie a tour mark.

In 1977 Fuzzy won $76,417 for 40th place and he topped the six-figure mark in 1978 when his earnings soared to $109,055. While he did not win a tournament, Fuzzy was second in the Greater Greensboro Open and the New Orleans Open.

In 1979 Fuzzy made his dramatic breakthrough. He won the San Diego Open and followed that with his Masters victory, achieved when he came from six strokes behind in the last 13 holes to tie Ed Sneed and Tom Watson. In the playoff Fuzzy holed an eight-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole, clinching the $ 50,000 first-place prize and a place in golfing history as the only man to win a Masters on his first try.

Will success change the 5'10", 190-lb. Zoeller? Not likely. "I don't plan on making any changes," he said. Of his play, he said, "Sometimes I hit 'em lousy. But when I'm putting good I've got to go for every pin. It's like when you hear the music, you've got to dance."

FUZZY ZOELLER Born Nov 11, 1951, New Albany, Ind.

AWARDS AND RECORDS
San Diego Open champion, 1979
Masters champion, 1979

Photo: A Masters first