Who is Curt Byrum? Meet the analyst replacing Paul Azinger on NBC for the Hero World Challenge

Unlike Johnny Miller and Paul Azinger, Curt Byrum did not win a major championship during his career as a professional golfer.

Despite that, Byrum is an experienced analyst who provides tons of insight during the telecast. He has worked for the Golf Channel since 2001.

Byrum, now 64 years old, will replace Azinger as the lead analyst for NBC Sports at next week’s Hero World Challenge. He will sit in the 18th tower alongside host Dan Hicks, who has anchored NBC’s golf coverage since 2000.

But many golf fans want to know, who is Curt Byrum?

Curt Byrum - NBC Analyst

Born in raised in Onida, South Dakota, which had a population of 666 in the 2020 census, Byrum grew up playing football and basketball. While at Sully Buttes High School, he became an all-state football player.

He learned how to play golf at a local golf course, where he and his brother, Tom, mowed the greens. The course was essentially a cow pasture, so the Byrum brothers would hit shots all over the course, using their imagination to route around different holes.

Funny enough, Tom Byrum became a PGA Tour pro too.

PGA Tour

“The thing my brother and I had was our father Elliot,” Curt said to the Argus Leader—the largest newspaper in South Dakota—in 2014.

“He was a hard driver. He pushed us to work hard. He was the reason we hit all those balls at the old Onida Golf Course. I have no idea how hard the kids are working at Minnehaha and Westward Ho and Elmwood these days, but I know my brother and I spent an awful lot of time working on our games and trying to get better.”

Following high school, Curt Byrum took his skills to the University of New Mexico, where he played on the golf team. He was a great player, winning the South Dakota Men’s Amateur Championship in 1976, 1979, and 1980, the latter two coming during his collegiate years.

He then turned professional in 1982 and joined the PGA Tour in 1983.

While on the PGA Tour, Byrum recorded 19 top-10 finishes, which includes a win at the 1989 John Deere Classic—then known as the Hardee’s Golf Classic for sponsorship reasons. Byrum won his lone PGA Tour victory by one stroke over Bill Britton and Brian Tennyson.

Photo by Caryn Levy/PGA TOUR

He then competed on the Nike Tour—now known as the Korn Ferry Tour—throughout the 1990s after an elbow injury required surgery in 1992. He had another procedure done in 1996. His playing days dwindled during this time, but he still won two events on the Nike Tour in 1993 and 1999.

Byrum also competed in the U.S. Open three times and played in the PGA Championship on four occasions. His best finish came at the 1987 PGA Championship at PGA National in Florida, where he tied for 14th.

He also missed the cut at the 1990 Masters, his only appearance at Augusta National.

Nevertheless, Byrum has plenty of experience in professional golf and has a great understanding of the game, the PGA Tour, and the LPGA, all of which he has covered in depth for more than two decades.

Thus, the South Dakotan is undoubtedly qualified to handle NBC’s lead analyst role going forward. Whether or not fans welcome his terrific insight remains to be seen.

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.