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LUTZ - Every gallery has its loudmouth. The guy with too little decorum and too much volume. The one who sees silence as an inconvenience.
Here, in the group following Fuzzy Zoeller, the offender is easy to spot. Look past the people kneeling in the grass and beyond the ones parked in folding chairs. You'll see him standing near the top of the green.
He's the gent holding the club.
"Y'all are awful damn quiet back here," Zoeller shouted, as hundreds of fans broke into laughter at the 16th hole.
This was, quite possibly, the lasting image of the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Not because the joke was hilarious. Or even very original.
It was, simply, a moment.
You should understand, it was not a time for noise. Breathing, itself, should have been a luxury. Zoeller was having the round of his life and was a shot or two away from the greatest round ever by a senior golfer.
Going into the final four holes, Zoeller was a birdie away from a round of 59. He began the day nine strokes off the pace and, 14 holes later, was the tournament leader. He had seven consecutive birdies and, had a ball not lipped out at No.11, could have had 11 in a row.
Yet, here he was on the back nine, cracking wise and slapping backs. Talking to fans between shots, sneaking a smoke whenever he could.
"I enjoy seeing smiling faces," Zoeller said. "In a way, you can look at us as the entertainment business, even though we're out there chasing the white ball around. If we can make somebody smile, who knows, maybe next year they'll bring two or three of their friends back to the tournament."
This should be all we ask of the Champions Tour. Provide us with a moment or two. Either a memory to recall or a shot to talk about.
After all, isn't that the point of the tour? It may be heartwarming to see a knockabout such as Bruce Fleisher find a career in senior golf. And it's interesting when an international star such as Mark McNulty arrives 20 years late.
But this tour is built on memories. The opportunity to see the greats compete again. Maybe not with the same skills, but with better perspective. With an eye toward the crowd and a new taste for camaraderie.
This is what the people come to see. Not a country singer in spikes. Not football players out of their element. Certainly not rich business types buying themselves a thrill alongside a professional.
The Champions Tour is not designed to create legends. It's here to remind us how they once performed.
"There's great golf played on this tour every week," said D.A. Weibring, who finished fifth. "It's good to see great golf, and it's even better to see it out of a personality like Fuzzy."
Zoeller is one of the great hopes for the Champions Tour. Along with others who have arrived in recent years such as Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Craig Stadler and Tom Watson, Zoeller can help senior golf maintain a viable identity.
It doesn't matter Zoeller went about 15 years without a victory on the PGA Tour. It doesn't matter that his bad back is always an issue.
The point is he has a name. And he has a passion for the game. And that's how you create a buzz around an event that, by its nature, is inferior to the competition on the PGA Tour.
"Hey, with Fuzzy, I'm just happy he's breathing, with as much vodka as he drinks," Jerry Pate said jokingly. "I don't know how in the hell he does it. He sure has the secret with the cigarettes and the vodka. But it just goes to show you if you believe in yourself, you can do it. He has total confidence in what he does.
"He lives every day to the fullest. God bless, that's what every one should do."
Zoeller began the day with a sizable gallery and it grew as word spread. By the 12th hole, he had an entourage on his tail and history before him.
Drive after drive hit the middle of the fairway. And, shot after shot, Zoeller found something to joke about with the crowd.
"I'm going to start thinking I might be able to play this game," he crowed after his tee shot on No.15.
When someone asked about a celebration back at his Covered Bridge course in Indiana if he shot 59, Zoeller didn't hesitate.
"Drinks on me, all around," he said.
In the end, it was not meant to be. Zoeller's approach shot on No.16 was a little off. He drove it off the green on No.17's par 3. Zoeller had a terrific drive at No.18, but the ball landed in the soggy slope of a drain. His next shot was off and he had the day's only bogey.
The last shot kept him from tying the Champions Tour record of 60, yet he finished with a familiar smile.
"Trust me, I didn't leave too many things out there," Zoeller said. "You cannot ever complain about shooting a 61."
It's been 25 years since Zoeller won the Masters. And 20 since he won the U.S. Open. The victories do not come as often, nor are they on as big a stage. But that's the beauty of the Champions Tour.
We're not asking them to make history.
Just, for a moment, to relive it.