After five years as the lead golf analyst for NBC, Paul Azinger’s contract was not renewed.
On Sunday, the news came out that Azinger would not return to the network, a couple of months after his final event at the Ryder Cup back in September when Team Europe defeated Team USA in Rome.
“I have treasured working beside Dan Hicks and the other talented NBC broadcasters as well as lead producer Tommy Roy and all those behind the scenes,” Azinger said in a statement. “They are a remarkable team, and I will miss them tremendously. My thanks to them and the countless others who have supported me and helped me along the way during my work in television.
“I have faith in what the future holds for me, for NBC, and for the great game of golf.”
Azinger was expecting to call the Hero World Challenge next month in the Bahamas, where Tiger Woods announced his return to competition at the event he will host.
For the past five years, Azinger has been one of the top voices for some of the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule, including The Players Championship and the Tour Championship.
“With the golf and media landscapes now in a more challenging environment, Azinger and NBC will part ways as their current contract ends,” according to a statement from his manager.
Azinger joins Roger Maltbie and Gary Koch to be relieved of their duties with NBC within the last 12 months.
This news comes after some fans were not happy with what Azinger said during his career, including, most notably, the 2023 U.S. Open when Wyndham Clark emerged in Los Angeles for his first major victory of his career.
The 63-year-old, who has been the primary analyst at the U.S. Open since 2016 for Fox, followed by NBC, did not believe in Clark’s opportunity to win as Rory McIlroy was making a charge as well as making calls a little too quickly.
Those calls irritated some as Clark won by one stroke at 10-under par back in June.
Related: Top takeaways from Wyndham Clark’s sensational U.S. Open win
For the last 18 years, Azinger has been behind the microphone for multiple networks and became NBC Sports’ lead analyst when Johnny Miller retired in 2019.
Azinger was the lead golf analyst from 2006-15 for ABC and later ESPN before joining Fox.
His golf and broadcasting career has equaled four decades of involvement in more than 100 major championships and international events, including winning as a captain for Team USA during the 2008 Ryder Cup.
During his PGA Tour playing career that spanned more than three decades, Azinger recorded 17 worldwide wins, including 12 on the PGA Tour as well as the 1993 PGA Championship.
After recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer, Azinger returned to action and went on to win the 2000 Sony Open in emotional fashion, winning by seven strokes at 19-under par.
NBC did not announce Azinger’s replacement.