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Golf Icon Passes Away At 72
A golfing icon who famously took down Tiger Woods at the height of his career passed away this month at the age of 72.
Ed Fiori won four PGA titles over his decadeslong career, including the 1996 Quad Cities Classic, where he prevented Woods from carrying away what would have been the first PGA win of his nascent career.
Fiori passed away from cancer on Sunday, a rep confirmed.
Born Apr. 21, 1953, in Lynnwood, California, Fiori has told stories of a childhood sneaking through barbed-wire fencing near his home to play on a nearby course. He honed his skills while playing at the University of Houston.
He first went pro in 1977 and joined the PGA the following year.
Before beating Woods, Fiori’s last career win came at the 1982 Bob Hope Desert Classic. He later retired from the game, telling friends and family he planned to chase his long-held dream of becoming a charter boat captain.
“You kind of root your playing partner on, he roots for you and maybe you can feed off each other and keep it going,” Fiori said about his 1996 win over Woods at the Oakwood Country Club in Coal Valley, Illinois. It was one of just four times in Woods’s career where he lost after carrying a 54-hole lead.
“Playing with Tiger kind of raised my intensity a little bit. It brought my game up with it, I guess,” he added.
At the time, Woods, 21, faced off against then-42-year-old Fiori, leading him by one shot entering the final round of play. Woods dominated off the tee but faded as the day went on, offering Fiori an opportunity to close the gap.
He shot a 67, holding off Andrew Magee for a two-shot win.
Woods, who hit a quadruple-bogey at one point, finished T5 in the competition.
PGA leadership praised Fiori for his contributions to the sport he loved.
“Ed Fiori was a true gentleman in our sport, and is a player who would often be referred to as a pro’s pro,” PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“In three of his four wins on the PGA Tour, he dueled down the stretch with future World Golf Hall of Fame members, most notably Tiger Woods in 1996.
“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.
“He will be missed by all of us at the Tour.”
Despite struggling with weight gain for most of his life, Fiori continued to play in the competitive senior circuit, winning the 2004 competition in Mexico.
“I hung on for a few more years, and played for a while on the senior tour, but my back was always a problem,” Fiori said in a 2019 interview with Golf.com “I had spinal fusion surgery in 2005, and from then on, I struggled to break 80.
“Don’t feel sorry for me, though. I’ve had a great life in a game I love. It was never easy. Lots of times, I was on that flight heading home on Friday nights,” he said.
“But I would not trade it for anything. Even today, people call me the Tiger killer. They don’t always get their facts straight, but I don’t mind. I’ll never forget that weekend at the John Deere.”
WATCH:
RIP Ed Fiori. Great pro. Not many beat Tiger in the final group… pic.twitter.com/dWIGkRKr3h
— Straight Down The Middle (@sdtmgolf) July 6, 2025