Johnny_Miller

Johnny Miller

Johnny Miller
Personal Information
Birth	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Nationality
Residence	Napa, California, U.S.
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
The Open	Won 1976
PGA Championship	T11: 1977
Awards
PGA Player of the Year	1974

John Laurence "Johnny" Miller (born April 29, 1947) is a former professional golfer on the PGA Tour. 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. He is also an active and successful golf course architect. Miller was born and raised in San Francisco. In 1961, he 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.

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

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.

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. 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.

After Oakmont

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

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.

Subsequent career

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. One example came on June 16, 2008, when he referred to Rocco Mediate, during the broadcast of the U.S. Open's 18-hole playoff, as "looking like the guy who cleans Tiger Woods's pool". Mediate, who has battled many physical problems throughout his career, nevertheless played superbly, and took the heavily-favored Woods to a further sudden-death playoff before finally losing; he later laughed off the remark. Miller has also written a column for Golf Digest magazine for several years, offering insight into various aspects of golf, often featuring the professional game.

A side-light to his broadcasting career has been a string of movie and TV appearances as himself in the role of "beloved golf great". In one movie, The Associate, with Whoopi Goldberg, an aging billionaire is willing to transfer management of all his assets in exchange for the opportunity to play a round of golf with Johnny Miller.

Miller also owns a golf design company and a golf academy and designed the Thanksgiving Point Golf Course in Lehi, Utah, host of the Champion's 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.

Professional wins (31)

PGA Tour wins (25)

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other wins (6)

This list may be incomplete.

1973 Trophée Lancôme (France, not a European Tour event), World Cup (team title with Jack Nicklaus, and low individual scorer)
1974 Dunlop Phoenix (Japan Golf Tour)
1979 Trophée Lancôme (European Tour)
1981 Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa - unofficial event)
1983 Chrysler Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)

Major Championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Margin	'''Runner(s) Up
1973	U.S. Open	-5 (71-69-76-63=279)	1 stroke	John Schlee
1976	The Open Championship	-9 (72-68-73-66=279)	6 strokes	Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus

Results timeline

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

Notes

External links

Johnny Miller Golf Course Design and Development - Official Site Of Johnny Miller's Course Design Firm
World Golf Hall of Fame - Johnny Miller - inducted 1998
PGA TOUR.com - official site - profile - Johnny Miller
Int'l Herald Tribune - Johnny Miller remembers magical round - 14-June-2007
USA TODAY - Miller listens well en route to 63 in '73 - 13-June-2007
CBS Sportsline.com - Miller's round to remember - (club selection and scores) - 12-June-2007
Seattle Times - Miller remembers round - reprint from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - June 2007
Palm Beach Post - Johnny Miller: the man, the mouth, the legend - 10-June-2007
GOLF Magazine - The Critic - June 2007 - p.112-123
USA TODAY - NBC's Miller keeps firing away - 13-June-2002
Golf World - A caddie... and then some! - 24-June-1966
Golf Digest.com - Johnny Miller archive
Jim McQueen Art Site - links to pictures
BYU athletics - John L. Miller
SFGate.com - obituary for Larry Miller, father of Johnny Miller