Ed Fiori, who won four titles on the PGA Tour, including the classic Quad Cities 1996 which prevented Tiger Woods from his first victory, died Sunday at 72.
Originally from Lynnwood, California, Fiori won his first title at the 1979 Southern Open, then added victories to the Western Open 1981 and in 1982 Bob Hope Desert Classic.
Fiori is best known for his triumph at Quad Cities Classic, now known as John Deer Classic, when he defeated a 20 -year -old Woods in the final at the Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Ill.
“You root your game partner, he tells for you and maybe you can feed on each other and continue,” said Fiori about how his two days took place with Woods, who participated in his third PGA Tour event. “Playing with Tiger increased my intensity a little. It brought my game with it, I suppose.”
Woods led Fiori, who was 42 years old at the time, by a blow entering the final round. Woods dominated Fiori du Tee, but finally disappeared, opening the door in Fiori, which pulled a 67 to hold Andrew Magee for a two -stroke victory. Woods, who struck quadruple-bogogy on the fourth hole, pulled a 72 and finished T5.
During the last round of Sunday of John Deere Classic, the PGA Tour thought about Fiori’s inheritance and praised its determination in its fight against cancer.
“Ed Fiori was a real gentleman in our sport, and is a player who would often be called a professional professional,” said PGA Tour president Miller Brady.
“In three of his four victories on the PGA Tour, he d in the section with the future members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, notably Tiger Woods in 1996. This grain and this resolution in the face of immeasurably admirable chances in all aspects of life, and I know that he was fighting for cancer with this same determination.
“We will all miss the tour.”
– field level media