‘Sad Day For Golf’: Paul Azinger Expresses Disappointment In The Current State Of Golf

Former NBC analyst Paul Azinger has taken a jab at the PGA Tour. He was removed as a lead analyst from NBC, and later admitted that he didn’t feel bad for missing out on covering PGA Tour events. The former analyst criticized the state of golf as a sport and how it has been deteriorating over the past few years.

Moreover, he also explained how golf is approaching a doomed future and says the current situation is a “sad day for golf”. He also highlighted that LIV Golf is using the PGA Tour as a qualifying medium by luring the best players into their league. Let’s take a look at the entire interview and all the grudges Azinger admitted.

Paul Azinger Expresses His Grudge Towards The PGA Tour 

In the exclusive interview with Golfweek, Azinger began talking about how the best golfers are missing in the PGA Tour event fields.

“The best players aren’t all playing PGA Tour tournaments.” He continued, “That’s over. Suddenly, the LIV Tour, let’s just say it like this: the PGA Tour has fast become the qualifier for LIV and it’s a sad day for golf.”

Then, he talked about how he doesn’t miss the PGA Tour events at all.

“I’ve watched a little bit and I’m not missing it that much. I’m not missing it at all.”

Jon Rahm and Tyrell Hatton became the primary highlights to have defected to LIV Golf. Both the golfers were sculpted by the PGA Tour, but they left the tour when they were at the peak of their careers. 

Azinger also cleared that he won’t be covering any PGA Tour events.

“I would not rule that out. But it ain’t gonna happen. It would be stupid for me to say, ‘oh, no, I’m ruling that out.’ I don’t rule anything out except the Tour.”

Added to that, he continued,

“I’d rather call the Senior Tour than the PGA Tour to tell you the truth. I’m over the PGA Tour. To call the best senior players in the world, at least they’re the best.”

After Azinger left NBC, the channel took up Kevin Kisner, Paul McGinley, and others to cover the tournaments. But they still didn’t find a full-time replacement aside from Dan Hicks. Presently, there had been speculations around Azinger covering LIV events, but the major winner didn’t seem to rule that out completely. 

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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