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Johnny Miller to bring broadcasting career to an end
After almost 30 years in the commentary booth, Johnny Miller has decided that it’s time to bring the curtain down on a colorful broadcasting career. The 71-year-old, who is NBC’s leading golf analyst, will step down at the end of February at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, a venue where he won twice as a player.
Miller never shied away from controversy as NBC’s leading golf analyst, and while some enjoyed his straight-shooting style, others believed he was too blunt with his criticism at times. In 2010, Miller began a feud with Ian Poulter after questioning the quality of the Englishman’s ball striking, while after Rickie Fowler’s victory at the 2017 Honda Classic, Miller suggested that the American needed to “learn how to finish out Sunday like a true champion.”
Miller was also one of the only announcers unafraid of bringing up the subject of pressure, and specifically “choking”. In a sport where announcers often tend to air on the side of caution, Miller was unapologetic about his honesty as a broadcaster. Unlike many controversial sports analysts, however, Miller enjoyed a stellar playing career that saw him capture 25 PGA Tour titles, two major championships and a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame, and many people believe that he had earned the right to share his honest opinion, even if it meant rubbing the odd player the wrong way.
Speaking to Golf Digest on Monday, Miller talked about his impending retirement:
“I’ve been on for 50 years with no break. I had my 24th grandchild yesterday. All my friends were retiring, and it got to the point where I was like, ‘Hey, how come I’m not retiring?’ It’s been a great run. I’ve done everything I can do announcing wise.”
Although not yet confirmed, Paul Azinger is reported to be the man to replace Miller as NBC’s leading golf analyst. Azinger worked with ESPN as a golf analyst for ten years before moving to FOX Sports to cover the U.S. Open.
Is Superbowl Sunday at the Waste Management Phoenix Open the last we’ll ever see of Johnny Miller in the commentary booth? Well, maybe not, as the multiple major champion stated that despite his retirement he “might poke his head in” from time to time. We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s certainly going to take some time to adjust to not hearing Miller’s voice regularly in the commentary booth anymore.
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Tour Rundown: Malnati’s 2nd, Korda rebounds
March has brought out the lion as the month draws to a close. An early spring fortnight brought dreams of golf for the northern states until Mother Nature shrieked a veil of snow across those emerald fairways. Fortunately for golf, the sun shined bright and warm across a fair part of the links landscape, and events in Singapore, the Yucatan, California, and Florida, went off as planned. We hold our breath when champion golfers rise to the occasion in grand slam events. For the Malnatis, Feaglers, and Svenssons of the golfverse, every week is a major opportunity. In honor of their efforts, let’s begin this week’s Tour Rundown with a flying beast seen rarely outside the southern oceans: the albatross
ALBATROSS FOR @ROBBY_SHELTON!
Are you kidding?! ? pic.twitter.com/UzNOQQHkqo
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2024
PGA Tour @ Valspar: Malnati earns second tour title
Keith Mitchell played 54 great holes from Thursday to Saturday in Florida and played two more great ones on Sunday. It was the eight rotten holes on day four that cost him nine shots and dropped him from first to 17th in one round. Mitchell looked like a man poised to collect his first tour title, until his Sunday malaise. His struggles cleared the way for a number of challengers to move up the board. The tournament was won at 12-under par, but eight players finished within four shots of that lead.
Four shots are not a lot to make up on the Copperhead golf course at Innisbrook. Adam Hadwin, Carly Yuan, Xander Schauffele, and Ryan Moore finished on 276 strokes, four back fo the leader and tied for fifth. Mackenzie Hughes and Chandler Phillips finished one shot lower, at 275 strokes, in a tie for third spot. The runner-up spot was claimed by Cameron Young, perhaps the most talented player on tour without a win. Young was spectacular all week, never leaving the 60s.
Late in the round, Peter Malnati posted his fifth birdie of the day, at the difficult 17th. His tee ball from 200 yards settled six feet from the hole, and he guided the putt home. Ahead of him, on the uphill 18th, Young flew his drive far left but was able to loft an approach onto the green. His first putt, from 50-ish feet, came up woefully short and his attempt to save par was wide of its mark. Despite a drive into the left fairway bunker at the last, Malnati was able to recover to the green in two and coax a 25-feet approach put to tap in range. The victory was Malnati’s first since 2015, and his second overall.
Another birdie for @PeterMalnati ?
He holes the solo lead with one to play @ValsparChamp. pic.twitter.com/plqKr3dvm1
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2024
LPGA @ Se Ri Pak Championship: Korda rebounds for overtime win
During the first week of March Madness, maddening things happened on and off the hardwood. For Nelly Korda, the eagle she collected with five holes to play, should have given her momentum and confidence. Instead, it took her in the opposite direction. She found bogies at 15, 17, and 18, and it was only a saving birdie at the 16th that allowed her entry into a playoff with Ryann O’Toole. The pair returned to the 18th tee, and Korda once again managed to reverse fortune.
After the eagle, Korda strode at 11-under par, while her closest pursuers were a solid handful behind. At that juncture, O’Toole snared birdies at 15 and 16, and closed with pars at 17 and 18. She waited 45 minutes for Korda to finish, certainly uncertain as to her chances for more golf. In the playoff, both golfers hit stellar approach shots to the home green, with Korda about four feet inside O’Toole. The UCLA alumna missed her run at birdie, but Korda’s aim was true. The victory was her 10th on tour and her second of the 2024 campaign.
Two gorgeous approaches from @RyannOToole and @NellyKorda ?
This is gonna be a close one! pic.twitter.com/tKIZyRNxZd
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 24, 2024
DP World Tour @ Singapore Classic: That’s Svensson with three S’s
Svenson and its variations must be somewhat similar to the name Smith across the English-speaking world. Your father was a guy named Sven, so they didn’t think too long before giving you a last name. Jesper Svensson must be relieved: coming from a long line of Svens (hence the double S in the middle) his parents strayed from the norm and went all in on Jesper. This week in Singapore (which might be renamed Ssingapore for a bit) Jesper, son of Svenss, took down a guy that the golf world was all in on, just a decade ago.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat has a fun name to pronunce, at least for filologists. Back in the 2010s, he was a rising star, bound for glory. He collected four wins on the DP World Tour, from 2015 to 2018. Then, inexplicably, he went away. The Thai golfer made his return to our collective view in 2024 and came within a whisper of collectin win number five on Europe’s tour. Aphibarnrat opened and closed the event with rounds of 64, and normally, those fireworks would have sufficed to ice the trophy. Then came a guy named Jesper, son of Svenss.
Despite three bogies on his Sunday card, Svensson amassed eight birdies and two eagles and posted 63. This indiscrete round was enough to earn him a spot in a playoff with Aphibarnrat. The duo returned thrice to the 18th tee, and things appeared to worsen with each voyage. After having the hole with birdies in trip one, the pair managed pars in trip two, then a par and bogey in trip three. Just like that, the tournament had reached a conclusion, and Jesper Svensson the golfer will now threaten Jesper Svensson the bowler’s hold on Wiki searches. Enjoy one of his approach shots for eagle during round four.
A shot worthy of any champion ??#PorscheSingaporeClassicpic.twitter.com/apNudYeFkl
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 24, 2024
Korn Ferry Tour @ Bupa: Feagler stands tall after playoff
The KFT event along the Mexican Riviera began day four in the hands of an Argentine golfer. Nelson Ledesma appeared worthy of the title, until he endured a thousand small cuts, on his way to a closing 81. He dropped from 1st to 31st and didn’t just open the door for his chasers. He took out two or three walls and exposed the entire barn for all to enter.
The PGA Riviera Maya course played a stout, 7200 yards this week, and its defenses were apparent for all who came to compete. The week’s low round of 65 came on Thursday, and was redeemed by Jesus Montenegro, He soared ten shots higher on day two but would steady himself enough to finish in a seventh-place tie. With 66 on Thursday, Davis Shore found himself in contention, and he would remain until closing time. As the challenges increased, scores headed north and rounds of 76 and 74 would ultimately be found on the scorecards of the men who tied at the top.
Shore posted a 76 on day three, while Clay Feagler signed for a 74. On Sunday, as Ledesma was tumbling, both Shore and Feagler marched toward a 4-under-par total. They edged past Julian Etulain and tied for the pole position. Off to extra time they went, but three trips over the 436-yard 18th resolved nothing. Each golfer posted par-bogey-par, and the playoff moved to the 10th tee for its conclusion. There, Feagler made another bogey, but Shore went one worse. Unable to avoid double bogey, Davis Shore was relegated to runner-up status, and Clay Feagler collected a shield for his first Korn Ferry Tour title.
PGA Tour Champions @ Hoag Classic: Six seniors for Padraig
If any man could ever match Bernhard Langer’s 46 wins on Tour Champions, he would certainly have many of the characteristics of Padraig Harrington. The reason he won’t is his heavy investment in a wider reach of golf. Harrington captained the European Ryder Cup side in 2021, a venture that consumes close to two years of a golfer’s attention. After turning 50, Harrington continued to play the PGA Tour, mixing in Tour Champions appearances when time allowed. The Irish golfer has also become a YouTube favorite, offering advice and wisdom to those who wish to improve at the game. In other words, he lacks Langer’s laser focus on one task: winning titles.
That’s quite all right because when Padraig Harrington is on his game, wins come his way. They are rarely runaway victories, and this enhances his reputation for performing at the wire. This week in California, Harrington managed to close out Thongchai Jaidee in a most un-Harrington-esque manner. The lad from Dublin closed birdie-double-birdie-birdie, and this was enough to hold off the champion from Thailand by one.
The double at 16 was Harrington’s second of the day. A pair of doubles is welcome in no poker hand, yet Harrington found a way to overcome. The win was his sixth on Tour Champions. With a pair of playoff losses on the senior circuit, Harrington was fortunate to conclude matters in regulation time.
Paddy is clutch!@Padraig_H bounces back from a double bogey on 16 with a birdie on 17 to tie the lead @HoagClassic ? pic.twitter.com/pYaIamtSN8
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) March 24, 2024
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Morning 9: Streelman leads Valspar | Woods in for Masters | Callaway on sale rumors
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Morning 9: Scheffler’s 65% top-10 finish rate | Monahan: Constructive Monday PIF meeting | Hal Sutton alive and well
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Johnny Penso
Oct 16, 2018 at 4:32 pm
Sad to see Johnny go to be honest. If he’s replaced by some middle of the road, politically correct cheerleader or a buffoon, it’ll make watching golf far less interesting.
Paul
Oct 16, 2018 at 2:57 pm
Bob Menery for Johnny Miller’s spot.
Mr. 1488
Oct 16, 2018 at 1:32 pm
Johnny called a spade a spade. I like that about him. He would most likely call out the author of this article for posting that fruity picture of himself.
larrybud
Oct 16, 2018 at 12:36 pm
I for one like Johnny, even for some of the non-sensical stuff he says from time to time. Guy is honest, which is a rare commodity these days.
Jo Zoggs
Oct 16, 2018 at 11:02 am
err on the side of caution – not air
Mortons Salt
Oct 17, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Hahahahahaha!
Scott
Oct 16, 2018 at 10:28 am
I wish him the best in retirement, and am also super glad we don’t have to listen to him anymore. Win win scenario here.
4RiGHT
Oct 16, 2018 at 1:06 pm
Like if you would do a better job. You probably like Steve Lerner…
Aztec
Oct 16, 2018 at 10:40 pm
Oh geez, not Lerner. His closing commentaries on the grand splendor of whatever golf tournament just ended, his attempts at drawing metaphors between golf and the unending struggles of life…puke!