Following lead golf analyst Paul Azinger’s surprise departure from NBC, the broadcasting giant hasn’t taken long to find a replacement ahead of the return of Tiger Woods at the Hero World Challenge.
When Woods steps onto the course at Albany for his first competitive action since withdrawing The Masters, the man in the hotseat analysing the action will be Curt Byrum. Here’s what we know about the 64-year-old.
South Dakota-born Byrum was once an accomplished player in his own right. After honing his skills on a nine-hole course with his brother Tom while growing up, he attended the University of New Mexico.
There, he left behind other sports he had talent in, including basketball and football, to concentrate on golf. It paid off. After several wins as an amateur, he turned professional in 1982 and earned his PGA Tour card the year after.
Byrum eventually amassed 371 appearances on the Tour, which included one win – the 1989 Hardee’s Golf Classic (now the John Deere Classic), where he beat Bill Britton and Bryan Tennyson by a shot.
He came close to more success on the Tour, too, with two runner-up finishes, the same number in third, 10 in the top five and a further 19 finishes in the top 10. However, a second PGA Tour title eluded him.
Despite that, he achieved a creditable career-high world ranking of 64th in 1988, while he also played in all four Majors, with a best result of T14 in the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot.
Overall, Byrum had over 15 years on the PGA Tour, while he also achieved two wins on the Nike Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) before making his PGA Tour Champions debut in 2009, where he has played six times.
By that point, though, Byrum's broadcasting career had already taken off having become an analyst on the Golf Channel eight years earlier. He has also served as a tower announcer for certain LPGA Tour events, while he was a golf analyst for NBC at the 2016 Olympics.
Azinger's departure after five years as NBC lead golf analyst has shocked many. However, given his replacement's impressive career both on and off the course, he seems well-equipped to step into the role for the long-awaited return of Woods to competitive action.
