Nineteen years after winning the U.S. Open championship, Johnny Miller is just hoping to last long enough to earn a chance to tee it up at the 1992 Open.
Miller, the 1973 champion, is one of 77 golfers shooting for 10 berths in the 1992 field on Monday at the Lake Merced Golf & Country Club. Tiger Woods, the teenage sensation who played in the Los Angeles Open earlier this year, will also play in the 36-hole qualifying event in Daly City, Calif."I don't even know if I can go 36 holes," Miller said. ". . . I haven't been playing a lot of 18-hole rounds, but I've been pretty sharp tee to green.
"If I don't three-putt and can make everything from five feet in, I'll be OK."
Thirteen sections across the country will be contested Monday and Tuesday with 606 golfers shooting for 97 spots. Among those attempting to qualify are former U.S. Open champions Jerry Pate (1976), Hubert Green (1977) and David Graham (1981).
Miller, bothered by a chronic circulation problem in his lower legs in recent years, won his Open at Oakmont with a final-round 63. The following year, he won eight tournaments and a then-record $353,021. Miller's last PGA Tour victory came at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 1987.
The last time Miller played in the U.S. Open was in 1987, at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
The 1992 Open will be held June 18-21 at Pebble Beach Golf Course. "I'm looking forward to playing the fairways at Pebble Beach," said Miller.