Johnny Miller's 63

[Phil Benedict]

Here is a shot-by-shot description of his round.  What interests me is the approach clubs.  For example a 3-iron second on the first when it was playing 469-yards; a 3-iron to a 195 yard par 3; driver/5-iron to a 425-yard par 4.  He wasn't the longest hitter but he wasn't short either.   A 425-yard hole today is 3-wood/wedge for the longer hitters.

http://www.sportsline.com/golf/tournaments/usopen/story/10222826

[Phil McDade]

Phil:

What an exhibition of driving with a driver! Driver on every hole save the four par 3s and the very short par 4 17th. Pretty remarkable, given the mix of clubs most players are hitting off tees in majors these days.

[JESII]

I would think the rain that softened the greens must have had an impact on driving as well...ie: making the course play longer, hence more drivers, and much wider as well...

Would be a really cool round to watch on a shot-by-shot replay. He said in one of the recent magazine interviews that his average birdie putt was like 10 feet and just about all from straight below it...

[Phil Benedict]

I would think the rain that softened the greens must have had an impact on driving as well...ie: making the course play longer, hence more drivers, and much wider as well...

Trajectories were lower as well so roll probably accounted for a greater percentage of total distance, thereby making it play longer in wet conditions.  But a 195-yard 3-iron?  That's a 5 or 6 iron at most for modern pros.

[Kevin_Reilly]

I would think the rain that softened the greens must have had an impact on driving as well

Was it rain or the sprinklers being turned on overnight?  I read the latter in Golf Digest -- Sandy Tatum said that the sprinklers had been mistakenly turned on.

And to put Miller's round in perspective, how did the rest of the field play on Sunday?  

[Phil Benedict]

Lanny shot a 65 and one other player broke 70.

[Kevin_Reilly]

Whoops, it wasn't Golf Digest, it was the SF Chronicle the other day.  Here is an excerpt from the story:

Miller not only won the championship with his spirited Sunday charge, he also changed the complexion of future Opens, by most accounts. Oakmont and USGA officials, ever determined to stage the game's most difficult tournament, were said to be more than mildly irritated by any player shooting a final-round 63 in the national championship.

The next year, in the so-called Massacre at Winged Foot in suburban New York, Hale Irwin posted a winning score of 7-over, amid brutally thick rough and howls of protest from the world's best players. Many of them blamed Miller for angering the USGA with his final round at Oakmont.

Sandy Tatum, the longtime San Francisco lawyer who was chair of the USGA's competition committee in 1974, has spent more than three decades disputing this Miller-Winged Foot link. Tatum insisted neither he nor other USGA officials were troubled by Miller's 63, and he dismissed the popular perception that one fabulous round at Oakmont led to the bogey-fest at Winged Foot.

"It didn't have any influence on me at all. Why should it?" Tatum says today. Reminded of Miller's opposing view, Tatum replied, "I'm sorry, Johnny, but I set up the course and I know what was in my head. I don't blame Johnny for having that perception. It's logical for him, but it ain't true."

Told of Tatum's unwavering denial, even 34 years later, Miller quipped, "Well, his nose used to be shorter, too."

Miller said the rough in '74 stood 8 or 9 inches high, uncommonly tall and punishing. By Miller's recollection, players couldn't hit the ball more than 80 yards out of the rough at Winged Foot, as compared to 140 yards at Oakmont in '73.

So is Miller certain of the correlation between his round and the Massacre at Winged Foot?

"Absolutely, for sure, 100 percent, no doubt about it," Miller said. "Actions speak louder than words. They set it up as a total anomaly. There was nothing like it before and nothing like it after. ...

"I can't remember who they were, but some (USGA) officials I talked to over the years said, 'It's your fault, Miller.' All the players knew it was my fault. I got so much ribbing after Winged Foot, they wanted to kick my butt."

They also probably wished they could have duplicated Miller's accuracy at Oakmont. He traced his third-round 76 to forgetting his yardage book at his rented house, a vital tool given the course's sloping, wicked greens. Miller brought the book for the final round and immediately began peppering the flagstick, making birdies on his first four holes (three on short putts).

He repeatedly left approach shots below the hole, giving himself reasonable uphill putts for birdie. Miller made his only bogey on No. 8, pocketed five birdies in a span of seven holes (Nos. 9 through 15) and coasted home, barely missing birdie putts on Nos. 17 and 18. Miller hit all 18 greens in regulation.

Tatum did not see the round first-hand -- he was monitoring another group in his USGA role -- but he was not surprised by Miller's precision.

"Johnny was probably the greatest iron player I've ever seen, with the possible exception of Ben Hogan," Tatum said. "When he was on, he was just incredible."

Tatum also clarified one long-running rumor: that Oakmont's sprinklers were mistakenly left on overnight, softening the greens. That happened Wednesday night, Tatum said, and affected play in Thursday's opening round but had no impact on Miller's record round on Sunday.

Was the final round played in wet conditions, or not?  According to Tatum, it wasn't.

[Kalen Braley]

GREATEST ROUND EVER!

Just ask Johnny.

Yesterday he went off in the pressroom yesterday on a borderline incoherent treatise on how Oakmont is now the greatest course in the world tieing it all together with his "GREATEST ROUND".  I had to turn it off.  I hope Geoff wrote on it because it was pathetic.  A Few years ago it was Shinnecock was the best of the bestest.  Oh and Pebble Beach. Don't forget Pebble Beach with his miracle somehow magically yipless win.  Oakmont's the best because of his BEST 63, the best 63 in a major.  Johnny at his worst.

JM played early on a soft wet course at its wettest of the day, most of the time with no one watching.  His is the most suspect 63 of all the 63's shot in major tournament history.  Even if I weren't turned off by his constant cries for psychiatric intervention.

Hogan's final round in 1953 at Oakland Hills is probably the finest final round ever and arguably finest round in major tournament history, partly because he did it under the microscope and that course was stupid hard that day.

How can I get a live stream of another soundtrack than NBC's during US Open play this weekend? Any ideas?  BBC radio is usually not available live for US IP addresses.  

Anybody have a ball gag?

My Man,

I know you aren't suggesting Mr. Miller who sitteth high upon his high horse is a FIGJAM are you?  

P.S.  If you find out an alternative audio broadcast, do let me know I would love to tune in there as well.

[Bill Shotzbarger]

He hit every green in regulation. Does anyone know how many fairways he hit?

[Phil Benedict]

He hit every green in regulation. Does anyone know how many fairways he hit?

13 out of 14

[Kalen Braley]

I can't tell you how he did it, but I can show you what he did it with.

These are the clubs he used and they sit in the clubhouse at Thanksgiving Point, Utah.  Note the plaque at top that says "Round of the Century"

[Peter Pallotta]

"Would be a really cool round to watch on a shot-by-shot replay. He said in one of the recent magazine interviews that his average birdie putt was like 10 feet and just about all from straight below it..."

JES - I think I read that those were also the days when JM would ask that his caddie provide him with distances to the HALF-YARD, so accurate he was (or felt he was) at distance control with his irons.

I assume JM is telling the truth about getting his yardages that way, but I wouldn't know if that could actually be a useful/helpful thing or make a meaningful difference.  What do you think, can a player be so good and so on his game that it would make a difference?

Peter  

[JESII]

Peter,


Only in his own mind...which is the most important place...

Greg Norman apparently asked for half yardages in his prime as well. Some people need the most exact information possible to eliminate doubt, it settles them...but they cannot hit an iron and tell you the difference between 156 and 158 while the ball is in the air.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I know Johnny can irritate some but he is honest about his failures as well: yips etc.  
I don't care what the conditions were, 63 on the last day of the Open at Oakmont is pretty awesome.  For him it was the round of his life.  
In his prime, which really was only a few years, he was as good as anyone out there.

[Kalen Braley]

I know Johnny can irritate some but he is honest about his failures as well: yips etc.  
I don't care what the conditions were, 63 on the last day of the Open at Oakmont is pretty awesome.  For him it was the round of his life.  
In his prime, which really was only a few years, he was as good as anyone out there.

I'll give you that one.  When Johhny was on, he was really on, and almost Tiger-like in terms of being unbeatable...

[Jim Nugent]

Yesterday he went off in the pressroom yesterday on a borderline incoherent treatise on how Oakmont is now the greatest course in the world tieing it all together with his "GREATEST ROUND".  I had to turn it off.  I hope Geoff wrote on it because it was pathetic.  A Few years ago it was Shinnecock was the best of the bestest.  Oh and Pebble Beach. Don't forget Pebble Beach with his miracle somehow magically yipless win.  Oakmont's the best because of his BEST 63, the best 63 in a major.  Johnny at his worst.

JM played early on a soft wet course at its wettest of the day, most of the time with no one watching.  His is the most suspect 63 of all the 63's shot in major tournament history.  Even if I weren't turned off by his constant cries for psychiatric intervention.

As was pointed out, only a few other players broke 70 that day.  He hit every green, and every fairway but one.  On virtually every green, he had short birdie putts of 10 feet or less, from under the hole: with good, not great, putting, he could have shot 58.  And his 63 was good enough to win the tournament.  

I don't know how you shoot a "suspect" 63 at Oakmont in the final round of the U.S. Open.  IMO it probably was the greatest of all 63's in major tournament play.  

[Phil McDade]

Four players shot under 70 that day -- Miller, Wadkins at 65, Nicklaus and the immortal Ralph Johnston who shot 68s. Three others shot under par -- Weiskopf (who ended up third), Trevino (who ended up tied for fourth with Palmer and Nicklaus, one of the great tied-for finishes in major history!), and Schlee, who was tied for the 3rd-round lead, shot under par in his final round at one of the toughest venues around, and lost by two. When was the last time that happened at a major?

I've always wondered just how early Miller went out that day, and I'm not sure it was as early as popular mythology has it. By my count, only seven pairings went out ahead of Miller and Barber that day -- the two pairings of the four leaders after Round 3 (Boros, Heard, Palmer and Schlee, all at 210), the two pairings of the next four players (Weiskopf at 211, and Trevino, Colbert, and Charles at 212), the Nicklaus-Player pairing (tied at 214), the Littler-Thompson pairing at 215, and the Geiberger-Ziegler pairing at 216 (I assume the G-Z pairing went off before the Miller-Barber pairing also tied at 216, because Miller played a very poor third round of 76, and would have gone off last among the 216 golfers under the last-in/first-out rule of thumb.)

So that's seven pairings ahead of him. Under standard USGA pace of play for majors (two pairings a hole), that put Miller at most three holes ahead of the final round leaders (Miller would've been playing hole 4, on the green, when the leaders teed off, assuming normal pace of play; Miller Barber shot a 77 that day, so Miller had to wait an extra 14 shots on his round for his partner.)

Do course conditions change that much over the course of three holes?

[tlavin]

I'm not the biggest fan of Johnny Miller; he says whatever is on his mind and he's always thinking about himself, but he was a hell of a golfer for a few years.  People can try to downplay his 63 by pointing out the others who shot under 70.  Others can downplay it by talking about the overnight rainfall.  But no matter how you slice it, a final round 63 in a US Open at Oakmont is an unbelievable feat.  It far surpasses any other final round in a major, IMHO and you sure as heck won't see anybody shoot that number this Sunday, even if they are hitting 9-irons into greens that Miller was hitting with 5-irons.

[Kalen Braley]

Hole by Hole:   He lipped out his bird putts on 17 and 18, missed a 3 footer on 8, could have been a 60

Setting the Standard
Johnny Miller fired the first 63 in the history of golf’s major championships at the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, coming from six shots back in the final round to win. Here are the particulars of what once was voted the greatest round in the sport's history.

1. 469 yards, par 4 Driver, 3-iron to 5 feet, birdie
2. 343 yards, par 4 Driver, 9-iron to 1 foot, birdie
3. 425 yards, par 4 Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, birdie
4. 549 yards, par 5 Driver, 3-wood, bunker shot to 6 inches, birdie
5. 379 yards, par 4 Driver, 6-irin to 25 feet, 2 putts, par
6. 195 yards, par 3 3-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts, par
7. 395 yards, par 4 Driver, 9-iron to 6 feet, 2 putts, par
8. 244 yards, par 4 4-wood to 30 feet, 3 putts, bogey
9. 480 yards, par 5 Driver, 2-iron to 40 feet, 2 putts, birdie
10. 462 yards, par 4 Driver, 5-iron to 25 feet, 2 putts, par
11. 371 yards, par 4 Driver, wedge to 14 feet, birdie
12. 603 yards, par 5 Driver, 7-iron, 4-iron to 15 feet, birdie
13. 185 yards, par 3 4-iron to 5 feet, birdie
14. 360 yards, par 4 Driver, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putts, par
15. 453 yards, par 4 Driver, 4-iron to 10 feet, birdie
16. 230 yards, par 3 2-iron to 45 feet, 2 putts, par
17. 322 yards, par 4 1-iron, wedge to 10 feet, 2 putts, par
18. 456 yards, par 4 Driver, 5-iron to 20 feet, 2 putts, par

[Phil Benedict]

Look at how many mid to long iron approaches he hit on the par 3's and 4's.  And he hit driver everywhere except 17.  Just shows how much the game has changed.

[A.G._Crockett]

I would note a couple of things:

1. Miller has said that if somebody who could putt had putted for him that day, the number could have been really ridiculous.  He is candid about his own shortcomings (the yips, pathetic chipper) and is equally candid about his strengths.  Some find this off-putting, but he is an honest guy.

2. Irons have been severely delofted since Miller's round.  His 5 iron would be a 6 or 7 today, so don't equate those exactly.

3. There is no way to equivocate or devalue this round.  Tee to green, Sunday, major championship, the venue, etc., it is arguably the best single round every played.  Forget rain, going out early(ish), or anything else.

4. Miller started the day way back, so hitting driver on every hole was the only way for him to get back in it.  I'd like to know what the leaders were hitting off the tees then.  And remember, Mickelson got roasted for hitting driver in the lead on 18 last year, so the game may not have changed quite as much as we sometimes believe.

[Jim Nugent]

Irons have been severely delofted since Miller's round.  His 5 iron would be a 6 or 7 today, so don't equate those exactly.

A.G. -- is the shaft on today's 6 or 7 iron as long as the shaft on Miller's old 5 iron?  Seems like that would also affect distance.  Curious to know how much further today's 5 iron actually goes, with the same swing.  The machines that test distance could give us a read on that, perhaps.

ETA -- I still think Mickelson made the right decision off the tee last year at WFW.