It’s safe to say Paul Azinger knows a thing or two about golf, having left behind a playing career that included victory at the 1993 PGA Championship to find huge success in golf broadcasting, most recently as NBC’s lead analyst.
Azinger left that role in November, but not before his huge experience gave him the foresight to see that Scottie Scheffler was destined for great things as an unknown, even when colleagues doubted whether he had what it took to get to the top.
Back in 2018, Azinger had just taken on his role at the broadcaster at a time when Scheffler was embarking on his professional career. However, even at that point, he saw something in the future World No.1 when others questioned his swing, as he explained to Rocco Mediate on his Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio show The Rocco Hour.
Azinger said: “I remember [Dan] Hicks when I first signed on with NBC, Hicks asked me. We saw Scheffler from a distance, I didn’t know who a lot of those guys were at the time, and I rolled up there and he said: ‘Watch this guy swing. People are questioning whether it can be good or, you know, with his footwork,’ and I didn’t see anything wrong with it, I didn’t even really notice it.”
"Now he's up against all the guys his own age he pounded for years, and he's doing it again."Paul Azinger isn't surprised by Scottie Scheffler's success. The '93 PGA Champion talks about it with Rocco Mediate on the Rocco Hour.@RoccoMediate pic.twitter.com/1ENm1JGMS5April 23, 2024
Rather than concerns over Scheffler’s swing, Azinger instead concentrated on the results. He continued: “I saw the ball leave, and it looked pretty good, and then I went and looked at his record, and I saw where he dominates at every level, and I told Dan: ‘Oh, I think he’ll be great.’
“He goes: ‘Why do you say that?’ I said: “Because he’s dominated every level, Dan, and he’s going to be playing against guys his own age.
“You first come out you’re playing against guys that are older than you, they’re more experienced, but now he’s up against all the guys his own age that he pounded for years, and he’s doing it again.”
That’s an understatement. After a couple of wins on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, Scheffler claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory at the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. A little over two years later, he has now amassed 13 professional victories including two Masters titles.
While Scheffler’s record before this year had been impressive, it is his form in 2024 that has seen him threaten to emerge as the era's dominant player, with the most recent four of those wins coming in just 11 starts, including The Players Championship and his latest victory at the Augusta National Major.
As for the swing Azinger said had been a concern of Hicks, Scheffler famously still has unorthodox footwork today. Even the stats say it’s not doing him any harm, though - on the contrary, he is currently leading the way on SG: Tee to Green this season at 2.835 strokes per round, with nearest competitor Hideki Matsuyama a distance second on 1.535.
NBC has yet to name a full-time replacement for Azinger. Paul McGinley and Brandel Chamblee have stepped in temporarily as the broadcaster continues to hold “rolling auditions” before settling on the person for the job.
