PGA tour winner Paul Azinger said that (relative) new comer Jordan Speith could be the next Tiger Woods, who is essentially who we think of when we think of Golf. Talking to reporters, The ESPN analyst highlighted some reasons as to why he thinks Speith should become the next Woods.
“He's all the things Tiger was”, He said.
“Tiger was as composed as anybody and if he did get ticked off he was able to put it behind him. Tiger was strategic and studied, he knows a lot about the game and Jordan reminds me in that part. He shares what he's thinking and I think that's just great.”
The golfer continued, “My favorite thing about Jordan Spieth is he is who we think he is. He's just a good guy who has got his act together.”
“He's an old head on a young body. He's strategic in his approach and he just seems grateful; he works for everything he's got.”
“He's a breath of fresh air.”
Speith will be joining the British Open at St. Andrews, and regardless of Rory Mclorry announcing his withdrawal from the tournament, Azinger thinks Speith really does have a chance.
“I think he's got his own things to deal with whether Rory is there or not,” he said.
“The golf course sets up nicely for him. It's hard to get it close at St Andrews and he's the best in the world between 15 and 25 feet.”
Speith, like his predecessors Woods, Sergio Garcia and Robert Gamez has already won two major tournaments at a young age.
As for Azinger, who had been playing Golf since he was five, has managed to bag eleven wins in the seven years he was on the PGA tour from 1987-1993. His major results would include his win at the PGA championships amongst others. In 1993, Azinger went through some life changing events. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his shoulder. Azinger went through six weeks of chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation. Despite this, Azinger remained very active in golf. For this, he won the GWAA Ben Hogan Award in 1995.
Azinger survived cancer and continued playing Golf as a professional player. In 2010, Azinger made his debut at the Champions Tour, where he played four events. After this, Azinger has not played a single match. The same year, he released his second book, Cracking the Code: The Winning Ryder Cup Strategy: Make it Work for You, which he wrote with Ron Braund.
Azinger received his education from Florida State University, where he met his wife, Toni. They have been married for 33 years and have two children together. They currently live in Bradenton, Florida.