Tag: Johnny Miller

These golfers won the same PGA Tour event three years in a row

Tiger Woods won the same stop three times in a row six different times.

Only six golfers have ever done it. It’s only happened 11 times in all on the PGA Tour and Tiger Woods has done it six of those times. On two of those occasions, Woods won the same tournament four years in a row.

We’re talking about winning the same PGA Tour event three years in a row, something that hasn’t happened in 13 years, not since the 2011 John Deere Classic.

The list of PGA Tour golfers who have won the same tournament three consecutive seasons has some big names on it, for sure. Woods, as mentioned. Jack Nicklaus was the first to do it. Many of the game’s greats never pulled off this feat, though. Tom Kim has the chance to do it at the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.

Check out the list of names and tournaments below. Source: pgatour.com.

Nicklaus Miller, Johnny’s grandson, qualifies for Drive, Chip & Putt at Augusta National

“My wife texted me ‘YES,’ with about five exclamation points.”

Nicklaus Miller has a name with 20 major championships between them.

The grandson of World Golf Hall of Famer and two-time major champion Johnny Miller also has a first name for World Golf Hall of Famer and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.

“We named him Nicklaus, not Nicholas, but Jack Nicklaus, and Miller, so he’s got, I’m always behind Jack so I’m 2nd place but the bottom line is, he’s got the right stuff,” said Johnny to the local ABC affiliate in Utah two years ago.

The 12-year-old from Provo, Utah, is proving to be a chip off the old block and living up to his lofty pedigree — he’s already a scratch golfer. He’ll have a chance to do something his grandfather never could quite do: win at Augusta National. Nicklaus recently qualified for the National Finals of the Drive, Chip & Putt the Sunday before the Masters gets underway in April after winning the Boys 12-13 Division in the Pacific Northwest at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.

Nicklaus’s father, Todd, the director of golf at Brigham Young University, said his son has been trying to qualify since he was seven or eight years old and had made it to the finals at Chambers Bay, where the winner advances to the National Final, before but this will be his first appearance at Augusta National.

An Augusta National spokesperson said that in 2023, Tony Finau’s cousin, Nelson Manutai, became the first relative of a Masters competitor to compete in the DCP and this April, Flynn Lewis, the grandson of 1987 low amateur Bob Lewis followed suit. Johnny Miller finished second four times at the Masters, including in 1975 to Jack Nicklaus, who won the Green Jacket a record six times. But that didn’t prevent Johnny from counting the Golden Bear as one of his closest friends.

Todd’s wife, Shannon, accompanied Nicklaus to the competition and was texting him videos while he hosted a recruit at BYU. Nicklaus didn’t get off to a promising start in the driving portion, which is usually his strong suit.

“He kind of hit a heel push, and it went out by like a yard,” recalled Todd of the first of three attempts to stay within the grid. “And so you could see in the video he kind of just dropped his head.”

But Nicklaus rallied to finish in the top three, chipped well enough, putted even better and when the scores were added up, he did just enough to eke out the victory.

“My wife texted me ‘YES,’ with about five exclamation points,” Todd said.

Nicklaus calls his grandpa after every competitive round for a debrief. “I’ll call him up and tell him how my game is going, and he’ll give me some suggestions over the phone,” he said, according to a story posted on the Drive, Chip & Putt website.

Imagine the call after advancing to Augusta was a pretty special one.

And Todd says a little bit of Johnny has rubbed off on his son.

“The cool thing about Nick is he’s got a lot of the characteristics of my dad. He he has a ton of confidence in what he’s doing, and got a great personality and quick wit. You know, sometimes he jabs the older guys at our home course at Riverside a little too much, and I have to tell him to back off a little bit. And that’s definitely a trait he gets more from my dad than he does me or my wife. And so it’s just kind of fun to see that. It’s fun to see him have a little bit of Johnny in him.”

Johnny Miller gives a swing tip to grandson Nicklaus Miller. (Courtesy Bill Servis)

Expect the whole Miller clan to make the pilgrimage to Augusta National, a place that always meant so much to Johnny during his career but sadly proved to be unrequited love.

“My wife hasn’t been to the Masters, and neither has Nick,” Todd said. “Even before he qualified [for the DCP], I kind of wanted to take my family out. My dad’s getting a little older, and so wanted to try to take my family out with my dad, if he can make it. And it was just great to have Nick qualified so we can, so we can all go out there and watch him.

“My dad doesn’t like to travel that much anymore since he retired,” Todd added, noting it’s been at least a decade since Johnny last attended the Masters. “I think he really wants to come out.”

It’s been a decade since Johnny Miller’s last U.S. Open broadcast at Pinehurst. Here’s what he said

Miller in 2014: “I’m hoping Fox will do a good job of keeping it going.”


When Johnny Miller stepped down from the broadcast booth following the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, his body language seemed to convey that he understood this was likely the last time he’d call the national championship.

Miller, whose 1973 win at Oakmont is considered one of the most dramatic in light of a final-round 63 that saw him come from deep in the pack, was proud of the work he’d done on the event with NBC Sports. But since Fox Sports had inked a lucrative deal with the USGA, the 2014 event, which was won by Martin Kaymer, was expected to end NBC’s run with the tournament.

A Golfweek crew that included current senior writer David Dusek stopped Miller as he stepped down from the U.S. Open booth for the final time.

“The way I look at it, 20 years is a pretty dang good run,” Miller told Golfweek at the time. “I didn’t think we’d lose it because I thought we were doing really a good job, but money talks and Fox wanted to get into the golf business. It is what it is. We had a great run. If somebody would have said I could do 20 Opens I would have been very happy and I’m still happy.

“But I’m hoping Fox will do a good job of keeping it going.”

Fox did not, in fact, keep it going.

More: Q&A with former NBC golf lead analyst Johnny Miller

In 2020, the USGA announced that media rights for its championships moved back to NBCUniversal, breaking a 12-year deal with Fox Sports worth about $1 billion.

After COVID forced the USGA to move the dates of the 2020 U.S. Open from June to September, Fox Sports struggled to find the broadcast hours needed for the championship, USGA officials noted, given their additional commitments to the NFL, MLB and college football. Talks that began looking into how Fox Sports and NBC/Golf Channel might work together this year ultimately ended in NBC taking over entirely.

The current NBC Sports agreement runs through 2026, but Miller had already left the network in 2019 when the new deal was forged.

When pressed to recall some of his favorite U.S. Open moments in the booth, Miller talked about his first broadcast when Corey Pavin won the 1995 tournament at Shinnecock over Greg Norman, in which he called Pavin’s 4-wood approach on the 72nd hole the “shot of his life.”

And of course, Miller looked fondly back on Tiger Woods’ dominant victory at Pebble Beach in 2000. Miller knew Woods was clearly in his prime, but he told his NBC partner they were in for something even more special than anyone else anticipated.

“He had only played four holes and Dan Hicks said to me, ‘what do you think Tiger’s chances are?’ And I said, ‘I think he’s going to shoot a record score and win by a huge margin.’ And he looked at me like, what are you smoking?” Miller recalled.

Woman blows through stop sign in fog, launches car onto 8th hole of Johnny Miller-designed golf course

Foggy conditions in the California Central Valley are common as air rises and cools between mountain ranges.

Foggy conditions in the California Central Valley are common as air rises and cools between mountain ranges.

One woman got a recent reminder of why drivers should take it slow through such conditions when she launched her car 40 feet in the air after missing a stop sign north of Fresno.

Early on Tuesday morning, the woman accidentally wound up on the eighth hole of Eagle Springs Golf Club in the town of Friant.

More: Golfweek’s Best: Top public and private courses in California

The woman was fortunate that the intersection was clear, no golfers were present on the course and she walked away with just minor injuries.

https://www.facebook.com/CHPFresno/posts/pfbid02WMsh1eqoVEgwstWwq5yoTJNbY1TQd2z5MhtQVqtdoXeJZ23Rg8BeQAztmepWHa5Sl

The course opened in 1990 and was designed by Johnny Miller, who was born and raised in San Francisco, just a few hours to the west.

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Q&A: Roger Maltbie on his life and times walking the fairways for NBC

His most memorable call? “Tiger Woods, sixth hole at the 2000 U.S. Open: My response was ‘just not a fair fight.'”

Roger Maltbie is a national treasure.

The veteran pro turned roving reporter for NBC/Golf Channel had his workload cut back significantly this year to our everlasting chagrin but he still is making a few appearances here and there, including a few weeks ago in Napa at the Fortinet Championship, not far from his old stomping grounds as a NorCal golfer.

Wine Country is where Golfweek caught up with Maltbie for an hour-long chat that was so entertaining we’ve decided to split it into a two-part Q&A. And here’s some more good news: You can get another fix of Maltbie and his unique brand of humor this week as he takes part in the broadcast of the PGA Tour’s Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.

The Burgerdog might be the best concession item on the PGA Tour and why golf fans have Johnny Miller to thank for it

No one can eat just one!

NAPA, Calif. – It turns out golf fans at the Fortinet Championship have Johnny Miller to thank for arguably the best part of attending the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort.

Miller, the 76-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer from the Bay area, is the reason there are two Burgerdog stands – one on the North and one on the South Course – and a mobile truck near the main tournament entrance this week. The smell of the famed Burgerdog is simply irresistible.

What does Miller have to do with it? A child prodigy of the fairways, Miller was given a junior membership at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, where he was known to down a Burgerdog or two after making the turn. It was Burgerdog enthusiasts like Miller who aided in creating a loyal following of Bill Parrish’s creation.

Parrish, a professional trumpet player and entrepreneur, created the Burgerdog in the 1950s with the help of his wife Billie. To save on money and space, Bill made a burger shaped like a hot dog and served it on a pillowy hot dog bun. Bill took his rig on the road and stopped at places like Half Moon Bay, boat races and even a car wash in Daly City. Fishermen and park-goers were his target market but golfers quickly became regular customers too.

Golfers line up to order the original Burgerdog at a stand at the South Course at Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)

When Bill set up shop alongside Lake Merced in San Francisco, just across the road from The Olympic Club, golfers playing the Lake Course would wind their way across to Bill’s stand mid-round, causing backups and pace-of-play issues. Eventually, the Burgerdog created enough hype that in 1954 Bill was invited to run the concession stands at The Olympic Club. Many Olympic members also held memberships at Silverado Resort & Spa and encouraged the Parrish family to bring the Burgerdog to Napa Valley. In 1973 Bill’s son, Steve Parrish, with the help of his wife, Linda, did just that by opening a concession stand on both the North and South Course. Steve’s son, Jeff, and his wife Ashley, are now third-generation owners.

The famed Burgerdog at Silverado Resort. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)

When Miller and partners acquired Silverado Resort in 2010 (Miller has since sold his interest), he made sure the Burgerdog stayed at Silverado, on both golf courses. Today, the Burgerdog – lean, never-frozen ground chuck and sirloin topped with strips of cheese, zesty mustard, red sweet relish, dill pickle, onions and ketchup and delivered on a toasted eight-inch bun from Athens Bakery – is a staple of golfers at Silverado and the go-to concession item for fans at the Fortinet Championship. And like Lays potato chips, no one can eat just one!

Check the yardage book: Silverado North for the PGA Tour’s 2023 Fortinet Championship

Silverado’s routing was altered for this year’s Fortinet Championship, but we have it covered.

The North Course at Silverado Resort in Napa, California – site of the PGA Tour’s 2023 Fortinet Championship – originally was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and opened in 1966. The course was redesigned by former PGA Tour star Johnny Miller in 2011.

The North Course will play at 7,123 yards with a par of 72 for this week’s Fortinet Championship.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the players face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.

The course routing was greatly altered for this tournament, with 10 of the holes playing in a different order than is normal. The graphics for those holes show the hole number in a red circle, with that number representing that hole’s position for the tournament. The graphics below are in order for the tournament.

Thrilling finishes await at Fortinet Championship after Silverado improves routing

Silverado Resort is changing things up for the 10th anniversary of the Fortinet Championship.

Silverado Resort is celebrating its 10th anniversary as host of the PGA Tour’s Fortinet Championship this week and decided there’s no better time to shake things up.

The resort’s North course was rerouted to make the final stretch of holes more accessible to fans, highlight the course’s signature par 3, and reconfigured the order of 10 holes on the 7,123-yard layout.

Holes 1-7 and 18 will remain the same as in years past. The reshuffling is designed to create a new finishing sequence that should lead to more thrilling finishes – though it will be tough to top Max Homa’s chip-in for the win last year – as a par 4, par 5, par 4, par 3 and par 5. The signature par 3, which plays over water – traditionally No. 11 – will become tournament No. 17.

Located in the heart of California wine country, the course, opened in 1955, was refreshed by World Golf Hall of Fame member Johnny Miller in 2010, which ushered in a new era of tournament golf. Silverado’s history with the PGA Tour dates back to the Kaiser International Open Invitational, from 1968-1976.

MORE: 5 things to know about the FedEx Cup Fall

“I sure thought about redesigning these courses about 4,000 times, probably as far back as the early 1970s,” said Miller who lived on the course for many years and competed at Silverado dating back to his days as a junior. “I said we could do one course and show the world what the potential of these courses is and breathe a little life into this iconic property.”

“I like it better now, and yeah, it makes total sense. When they first explained it to me, it was hard to wrap my mind around what we were doing, but that little loop around 5 and 6, it actually — it is probably how it should be just for the tournament,” said Homa, the tournament’s two-time defending champion. “Once Sunday, watching the lead, I just feel it makes a lot of sense if you’re out here. For the fans, you could almost stay parked on one tee box and see quite a few golf shots and see the leaders come back around.”

The new routing isn’t the only benefit for fans attending the tournament. The South Course, which used to be open for public play during the tournament, will instead be used for parking – no more shuttles! – and lead tournament spectators into a fan village with local food options such as world-renowned chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery cookies, Model Bakery English Muffins and the Original Burger Dog. Merchandise tents, bar areas and other child-friendly activities will be available.

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‘Monkey see, monkey do:’ Xander Schauffele shoots the second 62 in U.S. Open history, ties record set 22 minutes earlier

Xander Schauffele shot a 62 about 22 minutes after Rickie Fowler did so at LACC.

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LOS ANGELES – On the 50th anniversary of Johnny Miller shooting 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open, two Southern California natives shattered the mark within 22 minutes of each other, posting rounds of 8-under 62 at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course to share the opening-round lead at the 123rd U.S. Open.

Rickie Fowler, 34, of Murrieta, California, carded 10 birdies and two bogeys to set the mark, but it didn’t take long for him to have company as Xander Schauffele, 29, of San Diego, matched the historic 62 with a bogey-free performance.

“It’s not really what you expect playing a U.S. Open,” said Schauffele of how he and Fowler shot five strokes better than the next best score in the morning wave. “But monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front of me.”

U.S. Open: Leaderboard, tee times, hole-by-hole

There had been 66,448 rounds in majors since 1983 and just one 62 before Thursday’s opening round at LACC. The pair of 62’s matched the all-time lowest 18-hole score in any of the four men’s majors, previously belonging solely to South Africa’s Branden Grace, who set the mark in the third round of the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale.

“It was a great day,” Fowler said. “Close to a dream start.”

Playing two groups behind Fowler, Schauffele had a 24-foot birdie putt on his closing hole for 61.

“I think the USGA will be a bit frustrated that the number was that low today. I don’t think you’ll be seeing too much of that over the weekend,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. “I didn’t see 8-under out there today.”

Schauffele, No. 6 in the world, is making his seventh start at the U.S. Open and hasn’t finished outside the top 15 in the championship — T-14 last year, with the other five finishes all in the top seven. Schauffele took advantage of a cloud-covered day where the marine layer never burned off in the morning, making for good scoring conditions and allowing for aggressive play.

“The sun didn’t come out and it was misting this morning, so I’d say the greens held a little bit more moisture than anticipated for myself at least,” Schauffele said. “I think it made the greens sort of that more holeable speed almost, and then coming into greens you’re able to pull some wedges back. And then the fairways are a little bit softer, too, because of that sort of overcast, and without the sun out it’s not drying out much. I think fairways are easier to hit and greens are a little bit softer.”

Schauffele capped off his birdie barrage with birdies at two of his last three holes. At No. 7, he drew what he called “a tomahawk 4-iron” to the 258-yard par-3, which rolled inside 10 feet.

“That’s pretty much all I have in my body,” he said.

Schauffele is the only player with a top-20 finish in each of the last five majors (finished T-13 at the 2022 PGA Championship, followed by finishing T-14 at the U.S. Open at The Country Club, T-15 at The Open Championship at St. Andrews, T-10 at the 2023 Masters and T-18 at Oak Hill last month). Like Fowler, Schauffele’s bidding for his first major title, but knows that there is much more work to be done. As reporters interviewed Schauffele’s caddie Austin Kaiser about his historic round, Schauffele stepped in and said to him, “Dude, it’s just Thursday, my man.”

But if either Schauffele or Fowler shoot 67 or lower on Friday, they will also own the 36-hole U.S. Open scoring mark too.

“I’m anticipating the sun to come out just as much as every West Coast person out here,” Schauffele said. “I’m thinking the course is going to firm up a little bit.”

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Johnny Miller on ‘the choke factor,’ his magical 63 at the U.S. Open 50 years ago and in praise of Bobby Jones

Johnny Miller was behind the microphone one more time.

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LOS ANGELES – Johnny Miller was behind the microphone one more time.

On Wednesday, on the eve of the 123rd U.S. Open at LACC, the occasion was to talk about receiving the Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor. Miller, 76, who won two USGA titles in a Hall of Fame career and retired as lead analyst for NBC Sports in 2019, has made few public appearances in recent years.

“I’ve been sort of not available for press things since I retired, and just wanted to sort of walk away like ‘Dandy’ Don Meredith. Remember how he walked away? I was like, that’s cool,” Miller said, referencing the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned ABC Monday Night Football announcer.

But this was different. Given his accomplishments in the game and the way he became equally beloved and hated for his announcing, Miller fields numerous requests to be honored and given awards and usually turns them down. But the Bob Jones Award celebrates more than performance on the course; it recognizes an individual who demonstrates the spirit, personal character and respect for the game exhibited by Jones, the winner of nine USGA championships.

“I thought Bobby Jones might have been the greatest golfer ever,” Miller said. “A lot of people go to other players like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, but when you think of what he was able to accomplish in his 20s, it was crazy. He was amazing. I was sort of always a fan of Bobby Jones. I thought he was a gentleman’s champion. Really just an amazing person.”

Family ties

And so Miller attended a dinner ceremony on Tuesday evening and received a standing ovation when he finished speaking. He admitted he became emotional, realizing that this might be his final public bow in a career worth celebrating. The part that brought him to tears was hearing his son, Todd, speak, recounting the trip he made to Oakmont in 2016, his first visit to the famed Pennsylvania club since his father won there in 1973 and shot his record 63.

“We’re really tight, the two of us, and he made me sort of break down, in a nice way,” Johnny said. “I don’t mind breaking down if it’s from the heart.”

On the Monday morning after Dustin Johnson claimed the 2016 U.S. Open, Todd recounted how he played Oakmont and as he marched down the first hole he felt a closeness to his dad.

“I never felt those emotions before on the golf course,” he said.

About that final-round 63

Oakmont is hallowed ground for Johnny. It’s where in the final round of the 1973 U.S. Open he erased a six-stroke deficit to win his first major with a remarkable 63 that was voted the greatest round of the 20th century.

“I shot it on Sunday and it was enough to win the U.S. Open. There will be guys that will shoot 61 or 62, but can they do it on Sunday to win? That’s what makes the round what it is,” Miller recalled.

Fifty years have come and gone since that fateful day but Miller’s memories are tattooed to his brain. His recall of that round is remarkable.

“I knew after four holes,” he said. “I was six strokes back and I birdied the first four holes and I knew that I was in the running. The hair on the back of my neck sort of stood up when I said that to myself: ‘You’ve got a chance to win.’ That made the adrenaline just start pumping.”

He still bites his lip at the memory of his 3-putt at the eighth hole, the lone blemish on his scorecard that day.

“After I three-putted I went from sort of choking to getting a little bit mad,” Miller recalled. “Not mad where I’d throw a club, but mad like what the heck are you doing, man? It was like, you’ve got a chance to win the U.S. Open and now you’re missing these short putts.”

He settled down and birdied 8 and added three more circles on the card at Nos. 11, 12 and 14.

“I still didn’t know if what I was doing was going to be good enough to win, so I still had the gas pedal down,” he said.

He lipped out for birdie at 17 on the high side. At 18, he swung with all his might.

“I guess I hit the longest drive of the day on 18 and then hit an iron shot that I mean, you couldn’t see the flag from the ball when it landed,” he said. “It hit the top of this little ridge instead of hopping up which would have put me like within five feet of the hole. It stopped and then rolled back down the hill, and I hit this putt and it went down in the hole on the high side, down in the hole and kind of came out.

“So, you know, it wasn’t like I shot 63 by holing out a bunker shot or chipping it in from off the green or by making a 60-footer or even a 40-footer or even a 30-footer. It was just a great round of golf. … it was like somebody was helping me up there. It was not a normal round.”

The ‘choke’ factor

As an announcer, Miller was anything but a run-of-the-mill analyst. He revolutionized the role.

“It’s not like I just lollygagged around and see how wonderful everything is. It was always like I put myself out there,” he said. “The greatness of golf is the choke factor. I don’t care if you’re playing for a milkshake or $5 Nassau or whatever. The greatness of golf is whether you can make that putt to win, and to ignore that is sort of missing the greatest part of golf, no doubt. Nobody wanted to talk about it.”

Only on the subject of his family did Miller get choked up, his eyes red and glassy. For one hour, Miller had the microphone again. If it is his last public appearance, he did it once more with feeling.