Azinger happy to be 'just a golfer' again  PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent HONOLULU -- Paul Azinger has no regrets about beginning his 2007 season having dropped "television analyst" from his list of duties. But that is only one of many reasons he's glad to see 2006 come and go. "I'm glad it's behind me," Azinger said Wednesday on the driving range at Waialae Country Club, where he was preparing for the PGA TOUR's first full field event of the year, the Sony Open in Hawaii. "I didn't get fired. I didn't get sued. I'm just a golfer again." Well, that's not entirely accurate. Azinger also is the U.S. captain for the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., but that's far enough over the horizon that he could dispense with the worry on a balmy and breezy morning in Oahu. Sure, he already has assembled three pages of handwritten notes on how he intends to help the U.S. take back the Ryder Cup back from a European team that has dished out consecutive nine-point defeats to the Yanks. 
But on this day, just four days removed from his 47th birthday, his purple shirt dotted with sweat, the former PGA champion had more immediate and personal goals on his mind. The '06 season, in which he played using his one-time exemption as a top-50 career money winner, was the most trying of his 25-year career. Juggling his competitive schedule with his duties as an analyst for ABC Sports, where he teamed successfully with Nick Faldo, left him drained and largely dissatisfied. Sure, he kept his playing privileges by finishing 121st on the money list, but it was an all-around grind with 30 tournament appearances not counting TV work. "I was really nervous last year. Really nervous," the Bradenton, Fla., resident admitted. "This was my top 50 all-time money, a one-shot deal. I had no tenure on TOUR. I also was doing TV. So I was really nervous. I'm still nervous this year, but not as nervous. I hope it's just a little irritating instead of a grind. Golf's not easy, especially when you grind your guts out." And he was grinding all the way to the year's final event. "I liked broadcasting, but I used my top 50 money last year (to remain exempt), so what could I do? I had to put my heart and soul into keeping my card. I couldn't have the idea as a golfer that I could be backed up by a TV job. I had to just go out and play." With a swing that he has been fighting for the last three years, Azinger managed to cash 16 checks with one top-10 finish and seven top-25s. Once one of the most consistent ball-strikers in golf, Azinger hasn't been able to shake a fault in his downswing -- he says he is too steep -- that is causing hooks and blocks. "The year before last and the year before that it was just ugly," said Azinger, who won the last of his 12 TOUR titles at the 2001 Sony Open. "Last year I hit it better, but I was just so inconsistent. I used to always hit the ball solidly. Not always on line, but solidly. I can't say that anymore. "Believe me, it was the hardest year of my career trying to keep my card. I don't want to do that again. I want to get some confidence and go out and just get after it and think about winning as opposed to hanging on." Azinger, who might consider working for ABC at the British Open -- the only event on the PGA TOUR schedule the network broadcasts -- says he begins the 2007 season hopeful that he can work out the flaws with his swing coach, Jim Suttie. Mentally, he feels as strong as ever, though he could use a little boost of confidence that comes from seeing some good results. He used the word, "insecure" to describe his state of mind. "That comes from playing bad," he said. "My goal is to win a golf tournament this year. I think I can do it, but I have to get sharp enough. I have to get hot. I mean, I used to get hot for like six weeks. Six weeks. Now I get hot for maybe seven holes. I need to get hot for a period of time, so I can build some confidence. You get confidence when you get hot." "If you're physically sharp, you can get confidence," he added. "Basically, you can get confident in a minute. That's what I'm looking to build on." |
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