If you’re like us, you miss Johnny Miller. The two-time major champion became golf’s most respected TV analyst for decades until he retired in 2019. His candid style might not have been for everybody—and he pissed off tour pros in the process—but he continually ranked as fans’ favorite voice in golf in our reader polls.
There was no one like Miller. In the years since he retired, his legend has grown even more. He produced a lot of great stories and instruction with Golf Digest through the years thanks to a great relationship with our long-time writer Guy Yocom. For those craving some Johnny Miller content, I’d highly recommend searching our Golf Digest archives. I found this excerpt in 2004 from the book Miller and Yocom worked on together. There’s a ton of gold in there—including Miller going through his own career and discussing when he choked in his own right.
(Golf Digest+ members get access to the complete Golf Digest archive dating back to 1950. Sign up here.)
One revelation that amazed was how Peter Jacobsen didn’t talk to Miller for eight months after Miller predicted he would choke over a shot on the 72nd hole of the 1990 Bob Hope Classic. “This is absolutely the easiest shot to choke I’ve ever seen in my life.” As it turned out, Jacobson hit a clutch shot and won the tournament, but even still, Jacobsen—Miller’s eventual long-time colleague at NBC Sports—held a grudge against Miller for years.
This is a taste of the magazine feature with Johnny Miller, which is available in our Golf Digest archives here.
Any piece of Miller content is worth reading, as getting a reminder of the type of bold takes he’d deliver is riveting stuff. But the 2004 excerpt from our U.S. Open preview issue is especially worth a read.
And Golf Digest+ members can check out more Johnny Miller stories from our archives by clicking here.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
