Clearly, he had arrived as a force on the PGA Tour. Then, in December of that year, he was diagnosed with lymphoma in his shoulder blade. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments took his hair and his strength. But they didn t take his resolve. Apparently, nothing could.
Life changes, and priorities change, too.
Golf tournaments don t seem to mean as much. Family and friends become vastly more important. Azinger wouldn t have been the first player in professional golf whose competitive fire was extinguished. It would have been easy to simply go through the motions, and semi-retire to the television booth. Instead, he chose the tougher path, taking small steps back to his game s recovery.