NBC Sports picks potential Paul Azinger replacement for Hero World Challenge

Paul McGinley, the captain for the 2014 European Ryder Cup team.

Last week, reports emerged that Curt Byrum would serve as the lead analyst for NBC Sports’ coverage of the Hero World Challenge.

But NBC Sports executives in Stamford, Connecticut, have decided they want to test the waters on someone else, on a man who should be quite familiar to golf fans worldwide.

That would be Paul McGinley, the Irishman who captained the European side at the 2014 Ryder Cup.

McGinley, an analyst for Sky Sports and Golf Channel, will temporarily replace the ousted Paul Azinger this week on NBC, per Brian Keogh of The Irish Independent.

Azinger’s contract with NBC was not renewed beyond the 2023 Ryder Cup, making Europe’s resounding victory over the Americans his last event on the Peacock Network.

Paul McGinley poses next to the Ryder Cup after his team won in 2014.

This move comes during a time of change for NBC’s golf coverage as the sport’s landscape continues to evolve, too.

Last year, network stalwarts Gary Koch and Roger Maltbie did not have their contracts renewed, paving the way for Byrum and others to help lead NBC’s coverage.

Thus, the Hero World Challenge is a golden opportunity for McGinley, who has spent the last eight years working alongside Rich Lerner and Brandel Chamblee on Golf Channel’s “Live From” set.

The Irishman has a penchant for discussing the weather, the importance of the elements, and how it affects the game. But he also has superior knowledge in all facets of golf. He knows more about the swing than most and has an exceptional understanding of golf’s current landscape. McGinley served on the DP World Tour board for more than six years and won four times on the circuit formerly known as the European Tour.

His most recent triumph came at the Volvo Masters in 2005, which, at the time, was the concluding big-purse event on the European Tour. McGinley took home €4 million that week at Valderrama in Spain.

But the highlight of McGinley’s golf career came in 2002, when he made a 10-foot putt on the 18th hole at The Belfry to win the Ryder Cup back for Team Europe. He went on to play for Europe in the 2004 and 2006 Cups, with his team winning emphatically each time.

Whether he wins over the top brass at NBC, however, remains to be seen. Yet, should McGinley perform well in the Bahamas, golf fans will become much more familiar with the Irishman in the coming months.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.