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Johnny Miller

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This article is about the golfer. For the road racer and NASCAR driver, see Johnny Miller (NASCAR).
Johnny Miller
Personal Information
Birth (1947-04-29) April 29, 1947 (age 77)
San Francisco, California, USA
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Nationality  United States
Residence Napa, California, USA
College Brigham Young University
Career
Turned Pro 1969
Current tour Champions Tour
Professional wins 30 (PGA Tour: 25, Other: 5)
Best Results in Major Championships
Wins: 2
Masters T2: 1971, 1975, 1981
U.S. Open Won 1973
British Open Won 1976
PGA Championship T11: 1977
Awards
PGA Player of the Year 1974

John L. "Johnny" Miller (born April 29, 1947) is a former professional golfer on the PGA Tour who was born and raised in San Francisco. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s and is currently the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports, a position he has held since January 1990.

Early years

In 1961, a 14-year-old Miller became the first "merit member" at the Olympic Club, the club's term for talented juniors given access to its facilities and became the top player on its junior team. He won the S.F. city junior title in 1963 at age 16, and the following year won the 1964 U.S. Junior Amateur, and enrolled at BYU in 1965.

At the end of his freshman year, Miller qualified for the 1966 U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, his home course in San Francisco. He used his local knowledge to finish in a tie for eighth place, the low amateur by three strokes, and earned an invitation to the 1967 Masters. [1]

Miller was an All-American at BYU [2] and graduated in 1969 with a degree in physical education.[3]

PGA Tour

Johnny Miller joined the PGA Tour in 1969 at age 22, and won his first tournament in 1971. He won two major titles, the 1973 U.S. Open and the 1976 British Open.

1973 U.S. Open

Coming into the U.S. Open at the challenging par-71 Oakmont layout, Miller was a 26-year-old with just two tour victories in four years, but had done well in several majors. He tied for second at the 1971 Masters, and had top ten finishes at the U.S. Open in 1971 and 1972. Miller had yet to win in 1973, but by mid-June he had recorded eight top ten finishes, which included a tie for 6th at the Masters.

Miller played the first two rounds at Oakmont (near Pittsburgh) with Arnold Palmer and his "Army" gallery, at its largest in western Pennsylvania. Miller was two-under par (140) after the second round, but shot a five-over 76 on Saturday to settle at three-over (216) for the championship. (He did not have his yardage book with him until the 8th hole; his wife Linda had to retrieve it from their rented house.)

Miller began the fourth and final round in twelfth place, six shots behind the four co-leaders, which included Palmer. Teeing off at 1:36 pm, about an hour ahead of the final group, Miller shot a scorching eight-under 63, in what is considered one of the most remarkable rounds in U.S. Open history. He passed the leading players of the day, future hall-of-famers Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, and Palmer, who was in the final pairing with John Schlee.[4]

Miller birdied the first four holes and hit all 18 greens in regulation. He got five more birdies with only one bogey (a 3-putt on the 244 yard par-3 #8), and used only 29 putts during the round. [5] Miller wound up at 5-under (279) for the championship, besting the runner-up Schlee by a single stroke, who shot a respectable 1-under 70. Only five players (Miller, Schlee, and three others) shot under-par in that final round, making his 63 even more remarkable. Miller earned $35,000 for the victory.


Johnny Miller's 63: club selection and results - 17-June-1973

  • 1. - 469 yards, par 4 - Driver, 3-iron to 5 feet, birdie
  • 2. - 343 yards, par 4 - Driver, 9-iron to 1 foot, birdie
  • 3. - 425 yards, par 4 - Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, birdie
  • 4. - 549 yards, par 5 - Driver, 3-wood, bunker shot to 6 inches, birdie
  • 5. - 379 yards, par 4 - Driver, 6-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 6. - 195 yards, par 3 - 3-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 7. - 395 yards, par 4 - Driver, 9-iron to 6 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 8. - 244 yards, par 3 - 4-wood to 30 feet, 3 putts, bogey
  • 9. - 480 yards, par 5 - Driver, 2-iron to 40 feet, 2 putts, birdie
  • 10. - 462 yards, par 4 - Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 11. - 371 yards, par 4 - Driver, wedge to 14 feet, birdie
  • 12. - 603 yards, par 5 - Driver, 7-iron, 4-iron to 15 feet, birdie
  • 13. - 185 yards, par 3 - 4-iron to 5 feet, birdie
  • 14. - 360 yards, par 4 - Driver, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 15. - 453 yards, par 4 - Driver, 4-iron to 10 feet, birdie
  • 16. - 230 yards, par 3 - 2-iron to 45 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 17. - 322 yards, par 4 - 1-iron, wedge to 10 feet, 2 putts, par
  • 18. - 456 yards, par 4 - Driver, 5-iron to 20 feet, 2 putts, par [6]


A hole-by-hole course map (2007) of Oakmont from GOLF magazine can be viewed here [7] or a course flyover (2007) from the USGA [8]

After Oakmont

Johnny Miller followed that triumph at Oakmont by finishing in a tie for second at the next major, the British Open at Royal Troon a month later, three strokes behind winner Tom Weiskopf. [9][10] This was the first of five consecutive top ten finishes for Miller at the British Open.

In 1974 he was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour by some distance with 8 victories, amassing a then record $353,201 (not exceeded until 1978), unseating Nicklaus as money leader for a season. Miller began 1975 with 3 more victories before finishing second to Nicklaus at the Masters, and third at the British Open at Carnoustie [11], just a single stroke from playoffs in both.

He won his second (and final) major in 1976, a six stroke victory over Nicklaus and a 19-year-old Seve Ballesteros at the British Open at Royal Birkdale. Miller shot a 66 in the final round to tie the course record and earned £7,500 for the victory, about $14,000. [12][13]

Following this win, Miller, never known as a great putter, somehow lost the form that made him a frequent winner in his early career and failed to win for the next 3 years. In 1981 he enjoyed one final spectacular season; his victory at the Million Dollar Challenge in Sun City, South Africa (following an epic 9-hole sudden death play-off with Ballesteros) that made him that year's leading world-wide money-winner in golf after two earlier wins in the U.S.

Miller finished his career with 25 PGA Tour wins and 105 Top 10 finishes. He played on two Ryder Cup teams, 1975 and 1981. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1998.[14][15]

NBC Sports

Although he became eligible for the Champions Tour in 1997, he decided not to play the senior tour on a regular basis, focusing on his role as lead golf analyst for NBC Sports' limited golf schedule and other business ventures. This was despite his victory in the 1994 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, at age 46, after he had semi-retired in 1990 to take up broadcasting. As a commentator he became known for his straightforward and sometimes blunt remarks, which sometimes earned him the enmity of the players being commented upon.

Miller also owns a golf design company and a golf academy and designed the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course in Lehi, Utah, host of Champions Challenge. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Miller and his wife Linda have six children and live in Napa, California and Utah.[1]

PGA Tour wins (25)

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins (5)

This list may be incomplete.

Results in major championships

Tournament 1966 1967 1968 1969
The Masters DNP T53 DNP DNP
U.S. Open T8 LA CUT DNP T42
British Open DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The Masters DNP T2 CUT T6 T15 T2 T23 T35 T32 CUT
U.S. Open T18 T5 7 1 T35 T38 10 T27 T6 CUT
British Open DNP T47 T15 T2 10 T3 1 T9 CUT T57
PGA Championship T12 T20 T20 T18 T39 CUT DNP T11 T38 DNP
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Masters T38 T2 CUT T12 CUT T25 T28 T42 DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT T23 T45 CUT T4 8 T45 CUT DNP DNP
British Open CUT T39 T22 DNP T31 DNP CUT DNP T52 T49
PGA Championship T68 CUT T32 T30 WD CUT WD WD DNP DNP
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
British Open DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

See also

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/usopen02/2002-06-13-miller-cover.htm
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