Zoeller Gets First Victory

AKRON, Ohio —  The drought is over for Fuzzy Zoeller--and maybe it is for the Senior PGA Tour, as well.

Zoeller made several daring escapes for par coming down the stretch to win the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday, his first victory since joining the senior tour this year.

Zoeller closed with a two-under-par 68 to finish at two-under 278, two strokes better than third-round leader Bobby Wadkins and three-time Senior PGA Championship winner Hale Irwin.

The major championship victory might have given the senior circuit a major shot of adrenaline. Zoeller is seen as a savior for the Senior PGA Tour, which is desperate for a player with personality to counteract declining TV ratings and sagging attendance.

“I’m just one person. We’re doing a lot of positives for the game of golf on the senior tour,” he said. “We don’t want people to think we’re clones. We want to show them we’re human. I know I am.”

Zoeller collected $360,000--his largest check in 27 years as a pro.

The victory was Zoeller’s first in any tournament since winning the Anheuser-Busch Classic 16 years ago on the PGA Tour. The 1979 Masters and 1984 U.S. Open were among his 10 tour victories, but he never won a PGA title, finishing second to Larry Nelson in the 1981 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever win again,” he said. “Every time I got close, somebody seemed to play a little better.”