Jan. 10, 2005 – Most people about to have angioplasty would have viewed the operation with a fair amount of trepidation. Not Fuzzy Zoeller, though. He watched the entire procedure on a television monitor.
Zoeller, one of the most popular players on the Champions Tour, had surgery on Dec. 30 to insert stents and alleviate blockage in two coronary arteries. He came home on New Year’s Eve and is already in Florida, tuning up for the season.
“Everything is good,” Zoeller said Wednesday. “I am flattered by the concern that has been shown to me by golf fans, and I look forward to a fun and healthy 2005.”
The surgery is not expected to affect Zoeller’s plans to defend his title at the season-opening MasterCard Championship Jan. 20-23 in Hawaii. He practiced Monday and played 18 holes on Tuesday as he continues his preparation in Naples, Fla. The blockage was revealed after a routine, two-day physical on Dec. 28-29.
“It was just something he had decided to do,” said Dave Lobeck, president of Fuzzy Zoeller Productions. “He had changed physicians and they suggested this two-day physical. We actually had lunch after the second day, and Fuzzy said all went well. “Then he got in the truck after lunch and got the call. They said, ‘you need to come back in here’.”
One of Zoeller’s arteries was 80 percent blocked while a secondary artery was 70 percent obstructed. He had the surgery in the morning and spent one night in the hospital before being released on the last day of 2005.
According to Lobeck, Zoeller has some lingering soreness in his leg, where the procedure originated, but that is improving every day. “He came here to the office three days after the procedure and he said he felt great,” Lobeck said. “From what I understand from hearing a lot of doctors talk is that he’ll probably feel lot better now that this has been done.”
Lobeck said Zoeller, who played 24 Champions Tour events in 2004, may trim his schedule down a little this year. But Lobeck said the former Masters champion, was looking to do that prior to the surgery.
“He’s got to have some time to do some hunting and fishing,” Lobeck said.
Source: The PGA
