Not What He Earns, It’s What He Yearns : T of C: Paul Azinger, a consistent money-winner, wants a few more titles.

If there is one thing that separates the best from the rest on the PGA Tour, it is consistency.

If there is one golfer who epitomizes consistency, it is Paul Azinger. Although he has won only six tournaments in eight seasons as a touring pro, he ranks 11th on the all-time money list with earnings of $3,687,385.

The 1990 season was typical for the Florida State University alumnus, who is known to his peers as “Zinger.” He won only the opening event, the MONY Tournament of Champions at La Costa, yet he pocketed a season total of $944,731 and finished in the top four for the third time in four years. Only Greg Norman, Wayne Levi and Payne Stewart made more money.

“I pride myself on my consistency,” he said as he prepared to defend his title Thursday in what is now the Infiniti Tournament of Champions. “I work on every aspect of my game. If your touch in any part of your game leaves you, you never get it back.”

Azinger recalled that after emerging from obscurity to finish second in earnings in 1987, he dropped to 11th in 1988 before coming back to place third in 1989.

“During a practice round here a year ago, my caddie remarked how well I was playing,” Azinger said. “He said to me, ‘It looks like you’re in midseason form.’

“I remembered that the year before, I couldn’t have played worse in this tournament. I finished next to last (actually, he tied for 29th in a 32-man field). I vowed never to be so ill-prepared again. I had taken a rest after ‘88, and my game went down, down, down.

“In ’89 I finished the season with two seconds and a third. After that, I made up my mind I didn’t want to totally quit again. I kept playing in the off-season, so I was still confident and still had the same thoughts going, and it carried over to the other tournaments on the West Coast.”

One notable exception early last year was Azinger’s jinx tournament, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“I played terribly at Pebble Beach,” he said. “I always do. I swore I’d never go back, but I’ll be there again this year.”

Azinger’s remarkable consistency, Pebble Beach excluded, was typified by the season he had in 1990.

In winning at La Costa, Azinger shot 272, second only to Calvin Peete’s Tournament of Champions record of 267, on rounds of 66, 68, 69 and 69. Besides that victory, he had three second-place finishes, 12 top 10s and 16 top 15s.

Also, he became the first player since in-depth statistics were inaugurated in 1980 to lead the tour in three of the nine categories--all-around, eagles (14) and sand saves. The all-around stat title was his second in a row.

And that was just last year. In the four years since he made it big, he has finished in the money in 87 of the 105 events he has entered.

Still, Azinger is troubled that he hasn’t won more often. “I need to put my finger on why I’ve won only one time these past three seasons when I’ve had so many opportunities,” he said. “I ask myself what the missing ingredient is, and I have to believe it’s patience. Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself.”

Azinger’s toughest near-miss last year occurred in the Doral Ryder Open in Miami. He tied for first place with Norman, Mark Calcavecchia and Tim Simpson, only to wind up in a three-way tie for second when Norman made a spectacular chip shot for an eagle.

In his other second-place finishes, Azinger lost by one stroke to David Ishii in the Hawaiian Open and by two to Hale Irwin in the Buick Classic in Rye, N.Y.

All this frustration aside, though, Azinger’s annual tour victory was something special. Since he turned 30 on the day of the third round, his $135,000 check made a fitting birthday present. This time his birthday will fall on the final day, and with the purse up from $750,000 to $800,000, he might be in line for an even bigger gift--$144,000.

“It was quite a thing last year,” he said. “When I got to the 18th green, the whole gallery sang ‘Happy Birthday.’ It was great.

“When I putted, I had a six-footer and hit it well, but missed it. I just hope if I get there Sunday with a chance to win, they wait until I putt.

“The way I am, when people pay me compliments or do something nice like that, it shakes me up. I don’t know how to react.”

As much as he would like to win more than once a year, Azinger isn’t sure he would place any of his six tournament triumphs ahead of his runner up finish in the 1987 British Open. He was far short of being a household name at the time, but either held the lead or shared it for 71 holes before losing to Nick Faldo by a stroke.

“Obviously, the British Open is the most prestigious of them all,” Azinger said. “At that point, finishing second was a greater accomplishment than winning a tournament as far as notoriety was concerned. Up to then, my expectations weren’t that high.”

Azinger was a shot ahead of Faldo after 70 holes, only to encounter bunker problems. He wound up with two bogeys, allowing Faldo to pull even on the 71st hole and to win on No. 72.

“Even though I didn’t win the British,” he said, “I knew I had climbed to the point where I belonged.”

And it was a long climb for a man who admittedly wasn’t very proficient as a youth. “I was no good until 1980,” he said. “I couldn’t even break 70. After that, I got better so fast that I was on the tour in ’82. But to be 11th on the all-time money list is unbelievable. I never even dreamed of that.”

He lost his tour card in 1982, missed the ’83 season and lost his card again in 1984 before winning the tour qualifying school in ’85.

“I wasn’t like some guys who were touted as superstars,” Azinger said. “No one noticed me, and rightfully so. I never thought about winning a tournament until ’86.

“After ‘85, I was called an up-and-coming young player. When I had a good year in ’86 (earning $254,019), people said, ‘This guy can do it.’ Until then, I was just trying to make enough money to keep my card.”

By 1987, everybody with even a mild interest in golf knew who Azinger was. Before and after finishing second in the British Open, he scored his first three tournament victories and earned $822,481, second only to Curtis Strange. He was named player of the year by the PGA and Golf World magazine.

After dropping to $594,850 in 1988, Azinger earned a career-high $951,649 in 1989, then almost duplicated that with his $944,731 last year.

What made the big difference for a guy with such modest early aims? After finishing high school in 1978 in Bradenton, Fla., where he still lives, Azinger attended Brevard Junior College in Cocoa, Fla. There, he was coached by John Redman, now a club pro in Las Vegas.

“Until I started working with John in ‘79, my average score was about 77,” Azinger said. “The next year it was down to around 72. Two years later, I earned my tour card in the qualifying school.

“By ’85 or ‘86, I started concentrating a little better. That was as big a part of my turnaround as my ability to make shots. Once I attained concentration, I reached a new level. I see things positively now.”

If Azinger makes it two in a row in the Tournament of Champions, he will join Tom Watson and Lanny Wadkins as the only repeat winners since the event moved to La Costa in 1969.

During the 16 years the tournament was held in Las Vegas (1953-68), Gene Littler, who grew up in La Jolla and now lives in Rancho Santa Fe, won three consecutive times and Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer each won twice in a row. Nicklaus has won a record five times.

“Winning the Tournament of Champions is a big thing,” Azinger said. “They don’t list it a major, but you’re the champion of champions.”