The Money Is Great, but Azinger Looking for More

Paul Azinger is living proof that a golfer doesn’t have to win a lot of tournaments on the PGA Tour to make a lot of money.

Last year, for example, Azinger had just one victory but was so consistent that he earned $951,649 and ran third on the money list behind Tom Kite and Payne Stewart. He placed in the top 15 in 17 of the 26 tournaments he entered and in the top three seven times.

Amazingly, Azinger earned one-third of that money in his last three tournaments without winning any of them. One second-place finish and two thirds brought him $320,650.

That was all well and good. But now Azinger wants to transmit his consistency into victories, and he is in excellent position to start the new year right in the MONY Tournament of Champions at La Costa.

No, Azinger isn’t on top of the leader board after the first two rounds of 1990, but he is just one stroke away, and to him that’s the best place to be. His 68 Friday, four under par, gave him a 36-hole total of 134.

“Leading wire to wire is definitely harder,” he said. “I lose more weight if I lead wire to wire.”

Australian Ian Baker-Finch has a chance to do just that after coming in with a 67 that put him a shot ahead of Azinger. Baker-Finch and Azinger had shared the first-round lead at 66 with Greg Norman, who skidded Friday to a par 72 and fell five strokes back.

Azinger, who lives in Bradenton, Fla., has five tour victories and $2,742,654 in career earnings. He won three times in 1987, when he burst out of obscurity by earning a second-best $822,481, but only once in each of the past two seasons.

Even after his lucrative closing rush in 1989, Azinger was somewhat frustrated. Especially tough to take was his experience in the Texas Open, in which he tied the tour’s 36-hole record of 126 and finished with 265 but lost to Donnie Hammond by seven strokes.

After that, Azinger said, “I’d trade a lot of the money I won for a couple of wins. I want championships now.”

Because today is Azinger’s 30th birthday, he has extra incentive for wanting a championship in the season opener.

“Somebody in one paper had me 30 yesterday,” he said. “I was hanging on at 29 for two more days.”

Azinger and Baker-Finch were the last twosome of the day, and both said that their outstanding play inspired each other. But Azinger said he was overmatched against Baker-Finch on the greens.

“He putted unbelievably well, like I did yesterday,” Azinger said. “It seemed like every putt he made went in.”

Still, Azinger had to admit that he wasn’t exactly a duffer with his putter.

“I had just two holes that really hurt me,” he said. “On No. 2, I hit a three-wood into a bunker, then made a good putt that lipped out. On 12, I hit a terrible three-wood over a bunker, then missed a 15-foot putt. Both were par fives that were reachable.” Azinger parred both.

Interestingly, Azinger said he never looked when Baker-Finch swung.

“I just saw the ball fly,” he said. “I was with Norman once, and I made up my mind not to watch. I figured it might mess me up.”

It might seem that Azinger has an advantage because he is one of a few golfers still using square-grooved clubs--a sand wedge in his case--that the PGA tried to ban for 1990. The PGA was hit with a restraining order that maintained the clubs’ legality pending a court decision next month. The square grooves give a player more control than the standard V-shaped type, providing more backspin out of roughs and wet grass.

But Azinger said that, unlike in Thursday’s round, the wedge didn’t help him Friday.

“I was on the fairway most of the day, so it didn’t make any real difference,” he said. “Actually, it can be a hindrance with the greens as soft as they were today (because the ball will sometimes stop too quickly).”

Having reached the midpoint 10 under par, Azinger was asked what he thought it would take to start the season with a victory.

“I have no clue,” he said. “If we get Santa Ana winds, eight under might do it. If the weather stays the way it is, maybe 16 under. The par fives are very beatable.”