Paul Azinger on Dan Hicks: 'One of the greatest friends I've ever lost' - Golfweek

PHOENIX — The shocking news of the death of Dan Hicks has reverberated across the golf landscape. Tributes came pouring in from all corners of the sports industry and when Golf Channel went live with Charles Schwab Cup Championship coverage on Thursday afternoon, Paul Azinger joined the chorus.

Azinger rode shotgun with Hicks on NBC's golf coverage for five seasons, covering four U.S. Opens and two Ryder Cups together.

"A dear friend, I absolutely love Dan Hicks," Azinger said. "He brought the most genuine, joyful energy to work every single day. He was so good at his job, a brilliant mind. He took on, like, a macro view of sports in general. He was just a great broadcaster in golf. He's the voice of Notre Dame football, all the great Olympics, you know, where he called all Michael Phelps gold medals.

"He's just one of the most authentic people you'll ever meet in your life. I loved him and he feels like a brother to me. It was devastating news this morning, I was shocked.

"It can be a cold business out here, you know, doing TV, and he was truly the warmest heart in the industry that I've been a part of for now 20 years."

Fellow commentator John Swantek echoed those sentiments ahead of the Golf Channel telecast.

"Paul, we were lucky enough to call him a friend," said Swantek. "So many images, I'm sure, have been flashing through your mind through the day as well."

Hicks had covered the PGA Tour since 2000 for NBC Sports and was most recently the network's lead golf commentator. He also called swimming and skiing at the Olympics and was a frequent contributor to the network's coverage of Notre Dame football.

"His energy was authentic," Azinger said. "He loves sports. He loved to call sports, and he truly loved to call golf and and he and I had a blast in that five-year period of time, and I saw how hard he worked, what a professional he was. He made everyone around him better, but it was really kind of the off-camera stuff, the rehearsals, the commercial breaks where Dan Hicks shined for all of us.

"He's probably one of the greatest friends I've ever lost in my life."

Hicks passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at age 64. His wife, fellow sportscaster Hannah Storm, broke the news on social media Thursday morning that her husband died as a result of an acute illness.

"Dan was truly one of a kind and, quite simply, the person everyone wanted to be around," Storm wrote. "When he walked into a room, he brought the energy, the laughter and all the people together. He was endlessly kind, thoughtful and funny, and he made everyone feel like they mattered."

Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).