ELMSFORD, N.Y. (March 4, 2013) — Former PGA champion and 2008 winning Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger has been selected to receive the 2013 Gold Tee Award from the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. The award will be presented at the MGWA’s 62nd National Awards Dinner on Tuesday, June 18, at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, N.Y.

The Gold Tee is the MGWA’s highest honor and is awarded to an individual whose career achievements exemplify the best spirit and traditions of the sport of golf. Past winners of the Gold Tee include Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Nancy Lopez, Patty Berg, Phil Mickelson, Annika Sorenstam, Tom Watson and Ernie Els.  A complete list of Gold Tee Award recipients can be found at www.metgolfwriters.org. 

A 12-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Azinger is currently an ESPN golf analyst and is one of the most respected voices in golf.  He won the 1993 PGA Championship in a playoff over Greg Norman and competed on four Ryder Cup teams. Azinger captained the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2008 at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

Azinger is the author of Cracking the Code: The Winning Ryder Cup Strategy: Make it Work for You, which tells the story of the first U.S. team to win the event since 1999. He also authored Zinger, which details his golf career and his successful battle with cancer following the 1993 season.

In 2010, Azinger released an iPhone app called Golfplan, designed to help golfers improve their game.

A native of Holyoke, Mass., Azinger, 53, lives in Bradenton, Fla., with his wife, Toni. They have two daughters, Sarah Jean Collins and Josie Lynn.

- Jim Landers