At 60, Azinger Is Arguably The Voice Of Golf

Paul Azinger and Dan Hicks during the 2020 Sentry Tournament of Champions (Photo courtesy Golf Channel)

He celebrated his 60th birthday in paradise, surrounded by family and friends. Paul Azinger brought his wife, brother and sister-in-law to Maui for last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions, not that any of his relatives cared much about the golf. They were there to soak up the sunshine, enjoy the whitecaps near Makaluapuna Point and to sip mango smoothies while whales spawned off the beach at Kapalua. And, of course, they were there to celebrate Zinger’s 60th, a milestone he never thought about until it was upon him.

“I honestly never looked that far ahead,” he said by phone as he stood on the 14th tee at Kapalua’s Plantation Course and stared westward across the sea. “I was never that much of a visionary. In fact, I never looked beyond playing. Then, suddenly, here I am.”

Where he is is occupying one of the most coveted seats in sports, lead golf analyst for two of the three broadcast networks in the game, NBC Sports and...