Ed Fiori, known for taking down Tiger Woods, dies of cancer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH Fla AP Ed Fiori who for years was the only player to rally from a -hole deficit to beat Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour died Sunday the tour announced on its website He was The tour explained Fiori had been battling cancer It provided no other details A four-time winner on the PGA Tour no preeminence was more memorable than the Quad City Classic now the John Deere Classic Three tournaments into his pro career a -year-old Woods had a one-shot lead over Fiori going into the final round at Oakwood Country Club Woods had a quadruple bogey on the fourth hole and a four-putt double bogey on the seventh hole He shot to tie for fifth four shots behind Fiori Woods won two starts later in Las Vegas He never lost a -hole lead in another PGA Tour-sanctioned event until Y E Yang beat him in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine Lee Westwood overcame a deficit to beat Woods in in a European tour event in Germany Fiori also beat two other Hall of Fame members in playoffs Tom Weiskopf in the Southern Open and Tom Kite in the Bob Hope Classic In three of his four wins on the PGA Tour he dueled down the stretch with future World Golf Hall of Fame members majority notably Tiger Woods in That grit and resolution in the face of immeasurable odds is incredibly admirable in every aspect of life and I know he battled cancer with that same determination until the end disclosed Miller Brady president of the PGA Tour Champions He will be missed by all of us at the tour Fiori played only times on the senior circuit after turn winning in in Mexico I hung on for a meager more years and played for a while on the senior tour but my back was invariably a challenge Fiori commented in a interview with Golf com I had spinal fusion surgery in and from then on I struggled to break Don t feel sorry for me though I ve had a great life in a contest I love It was never easy Lots of times I was on that flight heading home on Friday nights he revealed But I would not transaction it for anything Even in current times people call me the Tiger killer They don t constantly get their facts straight but I don t mind I ll never forget that weekend at the John Deere AP golf https apnews com hub golf Source
