FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
ProfilesWinter 2017
Home›Profiles›Golden Beginning: Johnny Miller’s Turning Point

Golden Beginning: Johnny Miller’s Turning Point

By Jonathan Coe
February 15, 2017
6039
0
Share:

Every Hall of Fame career can be traced back to an initial victory, one that serves as a reassurance of belonging. For World Golf Hall of Famer Johnny Miller, that tournament was the 1968 California Amateur Championship.

Heading into his senior year at Brigham Young University, Miller was already a rising star among the college ranks, using the summer of ‘68 to tune his game and compete against the best amateurs on the West Coast.

“I had a lot of momentum going into the week,” Miller says. “All the work I did with my dad was paying off and I can honestly say I truly had the perfect upbringing.”

Two years prior, a 19-year-old Miller finished eighth at the 1966 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club in his native San Francisco. On Saturday, Miller was paired with Jack Nicklaus.

“Being paired with Jack on Saturday was surreal,” he says. “It let me know that I could play against the pros.

Going into that memorable summer 50 years ago, Miller had set his sights on turning pro. “All my energy was going towards a goal of playing on TOUR,” said Miller. “I was determined and certainly trained like it.”

Heput a premium on exercise that spring, running on the beach and putting himself through grueling physical workouts consisting of pushups, pull ups and squeeze grips.

The result? You guessed it: He gained 20 years off the tee.

“It was a whole new ballgame for me,” Miller says. “I always had great iron skills, the only think lacking was a little bit of distance. Also, my putting was usually ‘okay’ but the week of the Cal Am, everything came together.”

The 37th playing of the Cal Am was held at Pebble Beach Golf Links, a place Miller had played three times prior and fallen in love with.

“I had a passion for Pebble,” chuckles Miller. “In fact, my wife told me once, ‘You only get one girlfriend during our marriage and that’s going to be Pebble Beach!’”

Once the competition began, Miller made it look easy. Blessed with gorgeous Northern California weather — never a certainty — the fairways played firm and fast, allowing Miller to use his newfound length off the tee and ride a red-hot putter through the semis and into the finals against Les Peterson.

“I was putting my brains out,” Miller says. “Not to mention I was also hitting the ball a mile.”

That combination spelled trouble for Peterson, as it had the rest of the field. Miller would go on to dismantle his opponent to the tune of a Cal Am record margin 12&10 in the final match.

“That win was a turning point for me,” Miller says. “Not too many people could have beaten me that week, let’s put it that way. Perfect ball-striking and lights out putting had me rolling.”

A career that included 25 PGA TOUR victories and two major championships had it’s jumping off point.

“That victory was quite preparatory for going out on TOUR and making a living,” he says. “I knew I belonged.”

Miller turned professional on his birthday less than a year later, in April of 1969. The rest, as they say, is history.

Previous Article

For the Ages: Recounting Al “Mr. 59” ...

Next Article

A Miserable Year for Politics, a Great ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
mm

Jonathan Coe

Jonathan develops editorial agendas and manages the design of the Association's digital communication vehicles, including all newsletters and scga.org. He is the managing editor of the SCGA's primary print publication, FORE Magazine, a quarterly golf & lifestyle magazine with a circulation of over 175K. The Syracuse University graduate oversees a vast stable of freelance writers, photographers and designers of the award-winning publication. He also manages the SCGA's strong, visible social media presence by implementing cutting edge digital marketing tactics and is the host of the SCGA's Quarantine Chronicles podcast.

Related articles More from author

  • Lizette Salas
    Profiles

    Lizette Salas: Giving Back To The Game She Loves

    July 1, 2014
    By Ted Johnson
  • Fall 2018Profiles

    Reeling In The Years

    October 18, 2018
    By Matt McKay
  • FORE HerProfilesWinter 2018

    An Evolving Talent

    February 2, 2018
    By Mike James
  • Profiles

    The Greenskeeper’s Revenge

    February 15, 2017
    By Jonathan Coe
  • ProfilesSpring 2018

    Fight On: Despite Being Blind from an Early Age, Jake Olson Won’t Quit

    April 30, 2018
    By Jonathan Coe
  • Profiles

    UCLA’s Bling Earns Runner-Up Honors at U.S. Amateur

    August 29, 2018
    By Mike James

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • FeaturedSpring 2022The Podium

    Fan-Demonium: Up Close & Personal at WMPO’s 16th

  • FeaturedNewsSpring 2022

    Not Your Father’s Game: With Two Facilities Newly Open and Callaway at the Helm, the Topgolf Explosion Comes to the Southland

  • FeaturedProfilesSpring 2022

    Bob Does Hollywood: The Hardest Working Man on Instagram Finds Gold in Golf

  • FeaturedKnow the RulesSpring 2022

    The Provisional Ball: What? How? When?

  • 19th HoleFeaturedSpring 2022

    A Community Staple: With Zaidee’s Bar & Grill, Ojai has a Place to Gather

FeaturedSpring 2022Travel

The Pubs of St Andrews

The challenge seemed daunting at first. On an eight-day trip to St Andrews, my job was to rate the pubs in this lively college town where golf began six centuries ...
  • Scotland Must-Plays & Hidden Gems: 10 Terrific Tracks that Prove the Old Course Isn’t the Only Game Around

    By Joe Passov
    April 21, 2022
  • Bob Does Hollywood: The Hardest Working Man on Instagram Finds Gold in Golf

    By Adam Hawk
    April 21, 2022
  • Not Your Father’s Game: With Two Facilities Newly Open and Callaway at the Helm, the Topgolf Explosion Comes to the Southland

    By Scott Kauffman
    April 21, 2022
  • The Provisional Ball: What? How? When?

    By Jimmy Becker
    April 21, 2022
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise