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Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1988 and 1994.[1]
Azinger was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He moved down to Sarasota, Florida where he attended and graduated from Sarasota High School. After graduating from Brevard Community College, he attended Florida State University and turned professional in 1981. He finished one shot behind the winner Nick Faldo in the 1987 Open Championship. He won eleven tournaments on the PGA Tour in seven seasons from 1987 to 1993, climaxing in his one major title, the 1993 PGA Championship. He was subsequently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His treatment included six months of chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation in California. He wrote a book called Zinger about his battle with the disease and was the recipient of GWAA Ben Hogan Award in 1995, given to the individual who has continued to be active in golf despite physical handicap or serious illness. In 2000, he won his first tournament in seven seasons at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Azinger is also an avid poker player and competed in the main event at both the 2006 World Series of Poker[2] and the 2008 World Series of Poker.[3]
Azinger gave the eulogy at the memorial service for friend Payne Stewart, who was killed in a plane crash in 1999. His two managers and close friends, Robert Fraley and Van Arden, also died in the plane crash.
Azinger was the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2008 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.[4] He led the team to its first victory over the European squad since 1999. The team's victory was largely credited to his innovative strategy.
Azinger threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays' second ever playoff game on October 3, 2008.[5]
Azinger is a Christian. He and his wife Toni met at FSU and have been married since 1982. They currently live in Bradenton, Florida and have two grown daughters, Sarah Jean Collins and Josie Lynn.
[edit] Professional wins (17)
[edit] PGA Tour wins (12)
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Winning Score |
Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
| 1 |
Jan 13, 1987 |
Phoenix Open |
-16 (67-69-65-67=268) |
2 strokes |
 Hal Sutton |
| 2 |
May 3, 1987 |
Panasonic Las Vegas Invitational |
-17 (68-72-67-64=271) |
1 stroke |
Hal Sutton |
| 3 |
Jun 28, 1987 |
Canon Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open |
-15 (69-65-63-72=269) |
6 strokes |
Dan Forsman, Wayne Levi |
| 4 |
Mar 20, 1988 |
Hertz Bay Hill Classic |
-13 (66-66-73-66=271) |
5 strokes |
Tom Kite |
| 5 |
Jul 9, 1989 |
Canon Greater Hartford Open |
-17 (65-70-67-65=267) |
1 stroke |
Wayne Levi |
| 6 |
Jan 7, 1990 |
MONY Tournament of Champions |
-18 (72-67-67-69=275) |
1 stroke |
 Ian Baker-Finch |
| 7 |
Feb 3, 1991 |
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am |
-14 (67-67-73-67=274) |
4 strokes |
Brian Claar, Corey Pavin |
| 8 |
Nov 1, 1992 |
The Tour Championship |
-8 (70-66-69-71=276) |
3 strokes |
Lee Janzen, Corey Pavin |
| 9 |
Jun 6, 1992 |
Memorial Tournament |
-14 (68-69-68-69=274) |
1 stroke |
Corey Pavin |
| 10 |
Jul 25, 1993 |
New England Classic |
-16 (67-69-64-68=268) |
4 strokes |
Bruce Fleisher |
| 11 |
Aug 15, 1993 |
PGA Championship |
-12 (69-66-69-68=272) |
Playoff |
Greg Norman |
| 12 |
Jan 16, 2000 |
Sony Open in Hawaii |
-19 (67-70-73-68=278) |
7 strokes |
Stuart Appleby |
[edit] European Tour wins (2)
[edit] Other wins (3)
[edit] Major championships
[edit] Wins (1)
[edit] Results timeline
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
[edit] United States national team appearances
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
