‘PGA Tour Has Fast Become the Qualifier For LIV’: Paul Azinger Highlights Golf’s Biggest Worry in Surprise Confession

In November 2023, Paul Azinger and NBC parted ways after the Comcat-owned company did not renew Azinger’s four-year contract. The 13-time PGA Tour winner joined as a golf analyst in 2018 and replaced Johnny Miller. The veteran golfer recently gave an exclusive interview to Golf Week and did not hold back from revealing his feelings about NBC or the state of professional golf.

Azinger sort of retired from professional golf after playing his last event on the PGA Tour Champions in 2010. The broadcasting was the only thing that kept him connected to the world of golf after it, but per the golf analyst, he will not be “missing it at all.”

Paul Azinger talks about the current state of golf

The 1993 PGA Championship winner was unsatisfied with how his relationship with NBC ended; however, in retrospect, he was quite happy with his decision. But why was he elated after leaving his second profession? It all comes down to what the professional scenario currently looks like. Paul Azinger was unhappy with money, breaking the golf world into two: the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

“The best players aren’t all playing PGA Tour tournaments. That’s over,” said Azinger about the long-held monopoly the Tour possessed for decades before LIV Golf debuted. The golf analyst gave his analysis of what the PGA Tour has now become. He said, “Just say it like this: the PGA Tour has fast become the qualifier for LIV,” which, per him, had been “a sad day for golf,” as reported by Golf Week. 

The 64-year-old former pro also shared that if he watches the events and misses analyzing them, he says, “I’ve watched a little bit and I’m not, I’m not missing it that much. I’m not missing it at all.” Azinger had been an analyst for nearly two decades since he started professionally in 2005 with ESPN.

Although he has detailed not missing the events and enjoying his life without following a certain schedule, Azinger later described one event that he will surely miss broadcasting, as it is the biggest win an American, or, for that matter, any golfer, can achieve in his career.

Paul Azinger will miss the June U.S Open

During the last eighteen years, Paul Azinger has gone through various ups and downs in his life. He expressed that the golf analyst’s job initially did not come easy to him. Azinger made several mistakes, though he was quick to learn from them. However, he had started to enjoy his work more in the last three years.

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And there was one event that had his heart; it was none other than the U.S. Open. “That’s the biggest win that an American can have, certainly any player, it makes their career,” says Azinger. According to the former pro, all the preparation that the U.S. Open demands and which eventually transforms into green is the hardest.

So, as he hung up his analyst and golf boots, Azinger said, “I’m gonna miss that the most.” Will Paul Azinger return as a golf analyst for another channel or join the PGA Tour Champions? Well, it shall remain a mystery, at least for now.

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