Champions Insider: Azinger prepares for 'different world'

text size

Badz/PGA TOUR

Can Paul Azinger crack the code of winning on the Champions Tour? We'll find out starting this week.

There is a recurring theme to Paul Azinger's arrival on the Champions Tour. It's all about exploring, finding and entering different worlds.

Azinger makes his Champions Tour debut this week at The ACE Group Classic at The Quarry in Naples, Fla., and whether he was talking about his game, the world of golf, grooves, global warming or the technology that surrounds us, there was no escaping how dramatically everything has changed and continues to change.

Insiders this week

Adam Barr on Equipment
Rob Bolton on Fantasy golf
Nick Dye on European golf
John Dell on Nationwide
Stan Awtrey on PGA TOUR
Vartan Kupelian on Champ.

Let's begin with the Champions Tour.

"I played the PGA TOUR for 28 years," Azinger said. "The Champions Tour is a different world. I'm glad I've made it. I'm looking forward to playing. It's a different mind-set, I have to say.

"The feeling I have coming out here the last couple of days, seeing everybody, coming to a new arena, a new venue. I'm excited about it. I'm happy to be here. We'll see, if I play decent, how much I'll play."

Azinger, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Jan. 6, is returning to tournament golf for one reason.

It's not about money.

"If you're eligible for this tour, you probably don't need the money," he said.

It's not about filling idle time.

"I've been really busy the last month-and-a-half or so and haven't played that much," said Azinger, whose book on the 2008 Ryder Cup will be released in May.

In addition to contemplating a book tour for the publication, tentatively titled, "Cracking the Code," Azinger is involved in new-age endeavors, including a iPhone app for golf.

"I'm excited about that," he said. "It keeps me thinking about things other than playing golf."

For Azinger, it's about the competition. That's the only thing that hasn't changed.

"I still have that desire," he said. "I still want to be able to compete. But I want to enjoy it and embrace it for what it is. It's kind of a reward for hanging in there all those years. That's an honest assessment of how I feel. I look forward to playing the Champions Tour."

How well he plays won't be a stress point.

"If you put expectations -- like the cart ahead of the horse -- I don't have great expectations," he said. "I'm going to embrace this whole idea that I can be competitive."

Azinger won 12 times on the PGA TOUR between 1987 and his final victory at the 2000 Sony Open. His career was interrupted in 1993, soon after his major victory at the PGA Championship in a playoff against Greg Norman at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, when he was diagnosed with lymphoma in his right shoulder.

He returned to the PGA TOUR at the 1994 Buick Open and played well enough following the illness to earn spots on the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup, in addition to his victory in Hawaii.

In 2008, Azinger captained the United States to victory in the Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., ending a lengthy American drought in the biennial competition. Azinger represented the U.S. on five Ryder Cup teams as well as the 2000 Presidents Cup.

The new book will chronicle Azinger's experience at Valhalla and detail his strategy in creating a winning environment. For the first time, he will reveal the inner workings and dynamics in the American team room. Azinger used the Navy Seals concept of "bringing 12 guys together as a team" and putting them into pods based on "like personalities, not like games."

Explained Azinger: "Relationships trumped assets by giving players ownership of their little teams, within their pods, then empowering them to do their thing. The bottom line is they played great. The book gives them all the praise for what they did."

The first person Azinger encountered at The Quarry was Curtis Strange.

"It's been great to see everybody," Azinger said. "Everybody's been waving and saying, 'We know we can beat you. You're not a threat.'"

That's typical of Azinger's candor and droll nature in everything he does.

"Everybody that I've talked to says you're going to love it and I can see that," he said. "It's a different attitude.

"You get the sense that everything is different. The players seem like they really love being here. It's a Who's Who in the game of golf. I know every one of those names on the list. I can't say that on the regular (PGA) TOUR. It's a shame (the Champions Tour) doesn't get more pub or recognition. I get it. They're older.

"Everybody looks pretty young to me."

Champions Tour Insider Vartan Kupelian is a freelance contributor for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.