INTERVIEW OF PAUL AZINGER

DAVE SENKO:   Paul, thanks for joining us. I know you are going to play in the Pro‑Am today.  But maybe just your initial thoughts.  You know you had a chance to play in Naples, about the Champions Tour and what your impressions were of it.

PAUL AZINGER:  Well, I mean I like being here. I was a little star- struck by who was here.  It's a who's who in the game of golf. 

I said that we have been playing golf for a living for 40 years, like some of them.  A lot of them have very pretty much got it figured out. 

If you go on the driving range you hear a lot of really solid shots.  The only difference is, this generation doesn't really hit it as far.  I mean really, so it's hard to be competitive. 

But terrific ball strikers still.  It's very, very competitive.  The scores are low. I couldn't believe with the conditions the way there were in Naples, that Fred (Couples) was 17‑under and only won by a shot. 
And last week at Boca, I didn't play, but still 17‑under there.  Those are really terrific scores. You got to make a lot of putts under pressure to do it. 

Of course, I know virtually everybody out here. It's been enjoyable. I look forward to playing this week. I'm a little rusty.  I haven't played competitive much.  So my hope is that I can get acclimated hopefully sooner, rather than later, and maybe play well enough to get in contention.

DAVE SENKO: Do you have any history in this area playing? 

PAUL AZINGER: Just Riviera, I had a couple of chances there.  But I know seaside greens fairly well. I won Pebble Beach back in the day.  I consider these sort of seaside‑ish by maybe an ocean pull.  But these are difficult greens to putt well on.  There is something, there's a break there that's unseen but needs to be felt or understood somehow. I don't know how else to say it.  It's a terrific golf course. I will tell you what.  I really enjoy it.

DAVE SENKO: Questions?

Q.            Can you talk about being rusty, any expectations or goals for this Tour?

PAUL AZINGER: For The Tour, you know, I have a busy year ahead of me.  I've said this, it seems like the two or three times I've been into the pressroom so far. 

I actually have a book coming out about the Ryder Cup, the 2008 matches. 

The book is actually going to print today.  It will be released in May, and I would imagine that I'll be doing some touring related to the book.  I have a golf app.  So I am going to be doing things that will probably cause me to play less than a full schedule this year. But I would hope that next year that I can go full bore at it. 

I know that where you are 50, you should be out here, trying to capitalize on your youth and what have you. 

But  I just want to really enjoy it, embrace it.  You never know.  I'm not saying that I can't play well enough to get into contention.  I came in here, and I haven't hit a shot for 10 days until Monday.  So it's not like I was hard core working on my game the last week or two. 

I've got other things that I've been trying to get done in order to get it done.  I've been working on a deadline. 

I'd like to play well.  I would like to think that I can play well but I'm going to have to prove it to myself that I can do it. 

I'm not coming out here like Fred Couples, who I, I think, is still fully exempt on the regular TOUR and playing terrific golf and really confident. 

I'm coming in having played probably 14 events in the last two and a half years.  And I haven't played in a competitive event for seven or eight or nine months.  It's a big difference.

Q.            I assume Couples and Lehman both finished T‑15 in the Phoenix Open?

PAUL AZINGER:  I have no idea.  But they are both playing great with lots of confidence and their game is still at a level that can be very competitive on any Tour in the world.

So when they come here, they are going to be the guys you have to look towards to say, man, there is a barometer that they are going to be setting. 

Q.            Pavin come to you at all for any input or advice?

PAUL AZINGER:  No.

Q.            Surprised by that?  You won. 

PAUL AZINGER:  You know, I don't know what to say.  There is not a whole lot I can tell him.  I had a past captain's dinner where there was 12 guys or 14 guys or 12 guys showed up for that.  But he hasn't asked me anything, which was fine.

Q.            It looks like you could have a dinner this week, there are 12 former Ryder Cup captains in the field?

PAUL AZINGER:  It's a cool feeling.  We haven't talked about the Ryder Cup.

Q.            Paul, talk about how star struck you were about this field.  This is kind of like a Hall-of-Fame golf field.  Do you feel like there is certain pressure to perform well, since you guys are Who's Who of golf?

PAUL AZINGER:  I feel a little pressure to play well.  I think my expectations are that I will play well.  But, you know, my expectations may be a little different.  I'd like to play well.  I think there is a difference in expecting to play well and wanting to play well. 

But I know that at any level that there comes a point where you feel you deserve to play well and that's through hard work.  There is no shortcut to success.  You can't hope for it or wish for it.  It's about preparation. 

It's a message I preached to the Ryder Cup team.  It's a message I tell any young person.  It doesn't matter what you want to do in life, there is no shortcut to success. 

If you want to be the best sportswriter, you have to know how to spell. You have to have a real handle on the English language. You can't just hope and wish to be a decent sportswriter.  You have to have a creative mind, an angle and it’s work.  So I don't know that I put that kind of work forth yet, but I plan on doing it.

Q.            Do you almost feel like since you haven't really grinded and worked on your game daily that you might just come out here and shoot a 65 because you are so relaxed and not having any expectations?

PAUL AZINGER:  I don't know, I'm going to grind it out.  I always grind.  I'm hitting it nicely, don't get me wrong, I'm not chopping.  But I don't really know what to expect.  That's the thing. 

Q.            Can you talk about how these greens have subtle breaks, you have to feel them.  The hardest part of golf is losing the putting touch.

PAUL AZINGER:  Yes, I agree.  I'm working a little bit.  I actually spent time with Dave Stockton.  I did an outing for him on Monday and I spent a few minutes with Dave. Both of his boys were there.  I just told him, I said that I would like to leave here committed to a couple of things, that's it. 

So we talked, and I think a little bit of a band‑aid kind of a lesson for me.  I went to the short putter, which we will see how that works when the bell rings.  But poa annua greens are tough.  They track up, they grow really fast.  And I think it's part of what is the defense of the golf course, the nature of the greens.

Q.            Speaking of the golf course, what do you think about the length and design of it?

PAUL AZINGER:  Well, it's just fantastic. One of the most enjoyable golf courses to play day in and day out that you will find anywhere in the whole world. 

It seems a bit short, but I don't think it plays short because you are sitting here at sea level, it could be a bit cool.  You know, if it's short, that just means guys are hitting wedges.  They are just going to shoot lower scores.  It doesn't matter if it's long or short.  It's the same for everybody.  It was a pleasure to play yesterday.  I really enjoyed it. 

Q.            I will give you a chance to plug your book, what is the name of it and what can we expect in it that we don't know?

PAUL AZINGER:  There is a lot in the book you don't know. We are going to call it “Cracking the Code” and it's going to be about the Ryder Cup strategy and how you can make it work for you. 

We actually just rewrote that little tag part.  I don't know it exactly. 

There is a lot in there behind-the-scenes stuff, conversations that I had with players on the course, how I communicated with players according to their personality type.  I thought that was important getting to know who the players were. 

I used the pod system where I put the four guys together in small groups, and I gave them ownership, and empowered them within their groups.  The story just kind of unfolds. 

I think the biggest thing is the way that I was able to get the selection process changed. It's huge. 

You know, walking into the PGA of America offices, and describing what they look like, and knowing that I was going to sit down with these guys and try to make what I thought was one of the most important sales pitch of my life to get them to change what I thought was a system that was broken. 

We had only won three times in 25 years.  We lost 5 of the 6 previous matches, so I thought that there was a desperate need to change the way the team was picked.  And that system is in place right now.  There wasn't a single modification made to that.

I think the PGA of America was happy.  They stuck their necks out and agreed to everything that I asked.  And I believe we got it right because we did have the hottest players come into that match. 

The responsibility is on the players to get it done. No question about it. But you want the guys there that are the most confident playing the best. That is what I wanted in my suggestion, to change the way the team was picked.  So that process is in the book and it's told fairly quickly. 

But there is a lot in that book that you don't know. I think it should be a fairly quick read, an hour-and-a-half maybe, two-hour read, hop on a plane and zip right through it.  Good pictures. 

I'm excited about it. I'm proud of it actually. I hope it's received well. It talks about how we built the environment to get those guys to do the best they could do and got the heck out of their way, trusted them and watched them do what they do.

Q.            Did you work with anybody or did you write it all?

PAUL AZINGER:  I worked with Steve Eubanks to do it. Unlike you, I am on a third-grade level spelling. And I don't have command of the English language.

(Laughter).

Q.            Paul, when did you know that that Ryder Cup team was special?  Do you remember a specific moment where you were just like, wow, we are going to win it and this is going to be historical?

PAUL AZINGER:  Well still the outcome was in question, fairly late even on Sunday.  But we lead the first day, I believe, by 3 points, and I believe we took the lead into Sunday for the first time on Sunday since 1995. 

I just knew they were playing well. I knew they were completely committed to each other, committed to a plan. 

Again, I sent the main message to them, no shortcut to success. They're all successful because of the preparation and that's all I really could ask them to. They played phenomenal golf. They deserve all of the praise and the credit. 

As a captain, what can you do, you can create an environment that allows them to be their best and then it's up to them to hit the shots and be their best. 

When they won, it was just awesome. I told them after they won, I congratulated them and let them all know it's the biggest stage in the game, 600 million people watched you this week.  A couple of them came up and said, ‘Geez, I'm glad you didn't say that before it started.’  I had six rookies, they didn't know 600 million people were watching.  Or they might have freaked out. 

Q.            Paul, no one has won this tournament twice.  What is it about Newport Beach Country Club that makes it hard to repeat as the champion?

PAUL AZINGER:  I have no idea.  I thought Hale Irwin won it more than once.

Q.            But not back‑to‑back. 

PAUL AZINGER:  It's always hard to win back‑to‑back. There is a little bit of a distraction to see everybody when you come back.  It's always a little more difficult to defend. I always admired who can come out and defend a championship.  Dustin Johnson did it at Pebble Beach. You know he won and came back and defended. I think it's remarkable really. Tiger does it all the time. 

Q.            When you look back, the Champions Tour is kind of a second career. When you look back on your career, do you have any things that you think about, like do‑overs or things that you wish you accomplished that you hadn't?

PAUL AZINGER:  No, I've been through a lot. I couldn't break 80 two days in a row when I went to college.  And then three years later I was on TOUR. Five years later I was the Player of the Year.  That happened really, really fast.  I won 11 times in seven years and a Major championship and all of that.  I mean all of a sudden my whole life changed when I was diagnosed with lymphoma in my shoulders, six months of chemo, radiation, I've never been the same as a player.  Not even close. 

Everything changed for me.  I had that seven year stretch from '87 to '93 where I became, you know, a really solid consistently, you know high performing golfer. 

But if I look back at my career, I just say wow.  I think I was an overachiever.  But I will never know what could have been, had I not gotten sick, you know.  But I don't look back.  I'm glad I'm here. 

No regrets.  I worked hard.  I really was sold out to play my best. 

Q.            I was curious, have you thought about the Senior Open at Sahalee at all, have you given that any thought.  Do you plan on playing it?

PAUL AZINGER:  I think I am. I'm broadcasting the British Open for ABC ‑‑ ESPN.  I did a three- year deal with ESPN to do The Open Championship.  I was with ABC for two years and did the British Open.  I have a sneaky feeling it's the week before Sahalee. 

Q.            It is the week before?

PAUL AZINGER: I may have that wrong

DAVE SENKO:   Senior British.

PAUL AZINGER:  Senior British and then go over there.  I haven't decided yet.   I am guessing I won't play both.  I will play either the Senior British, or I will play Sahalee.  I love Sahalee,  terrific. 

Q.            What about Senior British at Carnoustie?

PAUL AZINGER:  I love that, too.  But I'm going to be sitting in a booth for a week and then go play there.  And then go hop on a plane and fly to the furthest possible place in America other than Hawaii and  Alaska.  I don't know how the players are going to do that.

DAVE SENKO:   They had a charter a couple years ago.  They went to Colorado Springs from Troon.

PAUL AZINGER:  Is it always like that, Senior British then Senior Open? 

DAVE SENKO:   They are trying to move those dates apart.  It's been difficult.  They are locked in with the Senior British because of ABC doing it.  They've been trying to move the Senior Open to a different date.  Maybe a bit earlier.

PAUL AZINGER:  It's a dilemma, I think, for me.  Maybe more so than somebody else, just because of the TV thing.  I'm not sure.  I love Sahalee.  I would love to be there. 

DAVE SENKO:   Thanks, Paul.