Paul Azinger prompted a volcanic reaction with television comments belittling the European Tour during NBC's final-round coverage of the Honda Classic. This was one of those social media eruption moments.
Here’s hoping Paul Azinger isn’t fired for what he said on the air. He certainly “crossed the line” while, as they say in issued statements, “not reflecting the standards” of network TV. Pure, unfiltered honesty has become so rare that when we hear it in concert with what we’re seeing, it is jarring.
One of the biggest voices calling out Azinger’s tone was longtime European Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter. “I like @PaulAzinger a lot,” he wrote on Twitter. “And get on with him great.
Azinger, a trained professional golfer, not a trained broadcast journalist, provided a national audience with a clear and even comically spoken truth that essentially served to mock the dishonest practices of “live” TV coverage. Blasphemy! Sedition! Tyranny!
"I'm not sure he loves the Ryder Cup that much, if he doesn't love it he should relinquish his spot and get people there who do love it,'' Azinger said. "Not everybody embraces it.
Paul Azinger joined NBC Sports in 2019, replacing Johnny Miller in the 18th tower as the network's lead golf analyst. In addition to his role on NBC Sports' live tournament coverage of the PGA TOUR, Azinger occasionally contributes to Golf Central Live From news coverage on GOLF Channel from the sport's biggest events.
In October 2018, NBC Sports and Golf Channel named Azinger their lead golf analyst, succeeding the retiring Johnny Miller. He will remain with Fox for the U.S. Open and U.S Women's Open.
The top 10 finishers at the U.S. Open are fully exempt from qualifying for the following year's Open, and the top four are automatically invited to the following season's Masters.
Azinger, 33, revealed yesterday that lymphoma, a form of cancer, had been diagnosed in his shoulder. He has begun treatment at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, Calif., for the disease and is expected to miss six or seven months of competition on the PGA Tour.
Toni AzingerPaul Azinger / Spouse (m. 1982)
His life was different. But he came back and won, he played well, and he's done a tremendous job in the TV world. '' Even with his best golf behind him, cut short by the invasion of cancer at 33, Azinger still managed to leave a mark in golf.
62 years (January 6, 1960)Paul Azinger / Age
$71,507,269Career Money LeadersRankNameAmount1Tiger Woods$120,895,2062Phil Mickelson$94,955,0603Jim Furyk$71,507,2694Vijay Singh$71,236,216130 more rows
17. Life Members (who have been active members of the PGA TOUR for 15 years and have won at least 20 co-sponsored events)....All-Exempt PGA TOUR Priority Rankings.Keegan BradleyDon JanuaryGary PlayerBilly CasperGene LittlerWebb SimpsonJason DufnerGraeme McDowellLee TrevinoDow FinsterwaldRory McIlroyRaymond FloydBobby Nichols3 more rows
$200The entry fee is $200 (as of 2019). Entry forms are posted when they become available each year on the USGA website: Go to usga.org.
For Woods and Mickelson, their entries were procedural; all players were required to submit an application by the deadline in order to play. Woods is among 12 past champions to enter and he is exempt via his 2019 Masters victory. Mickelson's PGA Championship win last year gave him a five-year exemption.
The Score’s Adam Sarson called it “s—-y.”. Those were the kinder comments. One of the biggest voices calling out Azinger’s tone was longtime European Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter. “I like @PaulAzinger a lot,” he wrote on Twitter. “And get on with him great.
Paul Azinger’s ‘condescending’ European Tour remarks shredded by Ian Poulter, Euro fans. Some European fans, players and media members thought Paul Azinger missed the mark on Sunday. As a broadcaster, Paul Azinger knows it’s not always what you say as much as how you say it.
It’s unquestionably more difficult to win a top Tour event than it is to win a high-ranking European Tour event. When it comes to the Honda Classic, the divide is slightly less obvious. Had Fleetwood won on Sunday, the title would have ranked lower in OWGR Strength of Field than three other tournament victories.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – In an era when relationships among the world’s best golfers lean more toward hugs than hostility, Paul Azinger is an unapologetic throwback to a time when Tour pros would think twice about even giving each other a Heimlich.
Backstopping is an integral part of the creeping chumminess on the PGA Tour, the doing of solids that is in danger of trumping the rulebook. Azinger encourages that friendliness, when the final putt falls. “I don’t think you can be friendly enough, but there’s a decorum that needs to be followed,” he said.
The player made a fine shot and Miller said so. Later in the season the player cornered Miller because someone told him Miller called him a choker.
I question how much Azinger can improve. He did this same job for ABC and ESPN from 2005 to 2015. Maybe he didn't get alot of airtime because they didn't have rights to many tournaments, but that's still way more experience than Johnny Miller had. Yes, Venturi and Nance were probably the best combo we'll ever see.