THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY MERCEDES-BENZ AND MICHELOB

October 23, 1996

Johnny Miller

JOHNNY MILLER: No, that's the one that kick started me. I had already won a couple of times at the Southern Open and Heritage, and won a few times overseas before that, but when I shot the 63 and became the National Open Champion, there was a lot of responsibility put on me with that and sometimes that will make some players crumble, and put too much pressure on them to win, and for me, the key, the turning point in my whole career, I think was that opening the doors, and the World Cup that preceded. A few months later, in that November or December, when I was teamed with Nicklaus and played with him basically six straight days and I won the tournament individually, and we won the team, of course, but I finally got to really compare my game to the greatest player that ever lived and it made me realize that I was ready to, on a given occasion, ready to challenge him. And as soon as that was over, a month later, opened up one of the next three events and the real thing with believing in myself, knowing that I could beat Nicklaus, even though he was an unbelievable player and a great individual. But that I could be a great player, not just a young lion, I could beat Nicklaus; I could beat anybody. And that was the turning point was the World Cup in Spain.

JOHNNY MILLER: I can honestly say that I'm so fortunate and grateful for -- obviously, I was a pretty good player and NBC, being lead analyst, and doing okay on that and writing for golf and Golf World, and I like to teach golf, so I was doing a little bit of everything in golf. I was so lucky. Most people who are 49 are counting the days when they're 50 to go back out and play and hit the jackpot, and for me I'm in this little golfing Nirvana state. I don't know how much room I've got for playing. So I'm going to play about five events next year, and just ask myself, look into my heart basically and say what do you want to be doing, what do you want to accomplish, what are your intentions? And right now I can't see myself playing that much. But maybe once I get closer to 50 I'll start chomping at the bit. I think the Senior Tour is fantastic, by the way. It's not that I don't think it's great, but I don't know how much I want to putt 4-footers left to right again.

JOHNNY MILLER: Larry Miller and he's in Napa along with myself and my wife. We live there also. He's 82 years old.

JOHNNY MILLER: In Napa, California. He lives in the same place I do.

JOHNNY MILLER: Yes. And still enjoys all the things I do in golf. So he's always been the guy that's pushed me and challenged me and never said anything negative once in his life.

JOHNNY MILLER: I truly believe for a man or a young man to reach his potential he has to have the confirmation of the father that says I'm proud of you, son, I love you, and you're going to be a champion. And my dad never used to call my Johnny. It was always Jim. And it was his affirmation that I would truly be a champion one day. And that was always the anchor in my life that helped me get through any tough times I had and made me the player that I was. I believe the father's love and the affirmation and the confirmation - confirmation is the key word - that was what I had and that's why I got where I am.

JOHNNY MILLER: Well, I think my career and Tiger's is very similar except for he hits the ball longer than I did and is another notch above where I was, even though I was a national junior champion and whatever. But what Earl Woods has done for Tiger, Earl is a little more aggressive on putting Tiger out there, where my father was hiding in the background and you'd never see him and you'd never get him to do an interview. He never wanted any attention or accolades his way, amazingly. But my father was there all the time and there's nobody that spent more hours - I guarantee you - out with their son than my father did. It if it goes the way of computer rating fathers, and the perfect dad, I had it. Earl has done a good job, Curtis Strange's, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, all the super players always had -- Gary Player -- occasionally you'll have somebody like Gary Player or Lee Trevino, you'll have it that it's not the case, but usually it's the other way around.

JOHNNY MILLER: I am. I said in print even I was surprised that he won 50 tournaments and 12 majors, and I'm sure when I said it several weeks ago people thought I was nuts. I didn't know he was going to win two out of seven events. But I knew from watching him if he played a normal tournament he could win. (Inaudible.) He's one of the few golfers where he actually could have a mediocre round and still win. Nicklaus used to do that. There's only a couple of players in the modern era that I could honestly say that could have a so-so game and still win the golf tournament. Even two so-so days, where you wouldn't make the putts and things weren't happening your way, and you still shoot 63 or 64 and win. Tiger has got that kind of horsepower. With his distance and his ability to win when it's just a nice tournament, who knows. Like he said, "you haven't seen the best of me yet" and they're right. He's got the ability to do -- he won -- won by 14 in Phoenix by 9 and 8 and 7 sometimes. He's got the capability, with his distance and technique, to blow fields away. He hasn't really done it yet, but he will do it when he gets really on where he's on peak performance at his personal best. It's going to be a pretty awesome future. He could be the greatest player there ever was. You have to think of the fields where you're not going to get 20 majors, and he's probably not going to win 60 tournaments, but he could win 50 and 12, which is probably good or better than Nicklaus's record. If you count the three U.S. Juniors and the

three U.S. Seniors thrown in.

JOHNNY MILLER: I think he's got quite a big agenda. I think that his agenda, that money has nothing to do with it. I'm sure now it's like, wow, I get to go buy a turbo Porsche. But he'll get over that. But it's probably going to be a lot of fun for him in purchasing. But I think his agenda is so pointed from his father and his sports psychologist that they're on track to do a Jack Nicklaus type thing, a Ben Hogan type thing, and that's what he's scheduled to do, not see how much money he can make.

JOHNNY MILLER: I was very surprised, to be honest with you. I was looking forward to either going -- obviously it was nice to be on with some of these players of the past, the Kite, Crenshaw, Norman or Faldo, they'll get their day when they get older, I guess. But I was pretty shocked that 75 percent of the votes is not an easy little scenario, you guys are going to have to lighten up.

JOHNNY MILLER: Well, I knew that they had gone down the list from the Watsons, Trevinos and Irwin and Floyd and I knew looking at careers, and just looking at the hard facts, I wasn't too far behind that group. But they're all a great group. Even guys like Lenny Watkins and Hubert Green and Larry Nelson and guys like that that are my contemporaries, that I'm sure that the time will come that you're going to have to look at careers and tournaments. There are not that many guys that will win 25 tournaments like I did in the future, other -- except for the Tiger Woods of the world. Curtis Strange, Crenshaw, those guys were all dominant in certain areas, certain points of their thing, and the older players, it's hard for me to relate to them as far as what they did, but the Lloyd Mangrums of the world obviously to me are Hall of Famers, but it's just a matter of time, I guess.

JOHNNY MILLER: I think that what it did, it set (inaudible) like, man, this guy must have been good. He doesn't even play golf anymore. Whether I am or not, probably I believe that I have one of the best records for how little time I put in the game. Once I became a father, I think I wrote the book, and then Lietzke read it several times. People talk about Lietzke, but I was doing it long before Lietzke, where I'd just go home and never touch a club. I'm not necessarily proud of that but I felt such a responsibility to my family that when I went home I didn't just selfishly stay on the course all day long. For basically doing it that way and winning that long retirement and knowing sort of how to do it down the stretch and doing it against Watkins at Pebble Beach in the lousy weather was fairly compelling, I think, even for non-Johnny Miller fans. So I think you raise a good point.

JOHNNY MILLER: Well, I did have that kind of career. I definitely got burned out at the end of '76 when I won the British Open. My son, John, started going to first grade and Linda started coming on the TOUR with me and I was on the TOUR by myself. And I felt, hey, I had already had a great career; I did more than I ever thought I was going to do. My heart was not out there and I had a tough time. And I finally came to grips with it, that my little boy said to me it's not so much what you accomplish in your life that's important, but what you overcome. And the point was really made to show my sons that for me to quit when I was down in '79 -- early '77, '78 and '79 that it clearly came to me that I need to get my butt in gear and practice and show these boys that because I had a slump didn't mean I was over. So I overcame that bad time where I was burned out and actually played fairly well from '79 through part of the '80s. So I'm glad that I listened to that little boy.

JOHNNY MILLER: I've only been playing one a year. After you win AT&T, hey, you can win every week. It only took a few weeks for me to figure out that that was a fluke.

JOHNNY MILLER: I think only next year will tell. Right now -- I'm sure I'm going to play. I really enjoy golf. And even when things are not going great, I enjoy golf now. But to have to putt to pressure, 4 or 5-footers, and the grind of the putting - the putting is sort of what drove me away from the game. My nerves are just not that good putting, and it's not that much fun struggling with your putting. And that's the reason why I quit more than anything else, that -- and I wanted to retire before I looked like road kill. So I figured the putting, if I can get that where it's sort of fun, I just won't expect too, but I'm going to have a good time out there and try to talk to the gallery, and do my bit for the Senior Tour, even if it's just a handful of tournaments a year. I feel that every great golfer, and real good golfer needs to represent the Senior Tour and carry that baton and keep that thing going, even though I might, with my NBC work, may not do as much as other players. I still have a hand in the game. I feel like I still have a hand in the game which is unusual for 49.

JOHNNY MILLER: I am, but I'll be covering it. NBC has a higher priority than my golf like now. Until, like Gary says, if I find after playing the Franklin (inaudible) in Utah, I will play the TransAmerica (inaudible) those ones I'm going to play in, I might add one or two, and play those. And if it's a kick in the pants and having a great time and am even competitive, then, fine, I'll think about whether something else has to go.

JOHNNY MILLER: A running commentary.

JOHNNY MILLER: At times I've played. I'm actually much more popular than I was when I played. As a player I was much more cocky. You've got to be when you're on TOUR. But I'm much more the guy in the living room I'm a friendly guy. I try to answer their questions. I try to promote the game of golf and promote the TOUR. And that's my main goal as a senior is not Johnny Miller, my main thing is I represent the Senior Tour, to keep this thing going. And maybe it's not like I'm a showman by saying that, but it's not true, at all. I'm trying now to make golf more fun and bring these people to the game and make them realize how great a game it is.

JOHNNY MILLER: I'll definitely do that. I've always done that, you just couldn't hear it.