For the second year in a row, the business of golf and upheaval in the game is preceding the US Open. Last year, it was the launch of the LIV Golf League. This time, it’s the news of the PGA Tour merging with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the entity that backs LIV Golf, striking an historic joint operating arrangement.

For NBC Sports, which will be providing a record 200-plus hours of coverage next week from Los Angeles Country Club across NBC, USA Network and its Peacock streaming service, the distraction really is no distraction at all. The first US Open in Los Angeles since 1948, conducted in the shadow of Hollywood, on the challenging North Course at LACC, supersedes anything else going on in the golf world.

NBC golf anchor Dan Hicks said the US Open comes “at the perfect time on the perfect course,” because it enables viewers to shut out the ongoing news surrounding the future of the game—crucial because that future right now has so many unknowns.

“I’m really rooting for this US Open to rescue us all, even for a few days from the story that I think everybody knows has been so divisive,” Hicks said from Paris, where he is covering the French Open tennis championship, during a conference call previewing the championship. “And I think that the LACC North Course is just the place to do that.

“We’ve all been immersed in this story, and frankly, it’s been pretty exhausting. Speculation … I don’t think anybody knows how this is going to go. I really believe that this golf course, this US Open come at the right time for us to be distracted by everything that’s going on and really enjoy the game. It will be interesting. The vibe will be different, no doubt about it. The guys, when they come to town, they’re going to be asked about it. When the gun goes off on Thursday, I think that’s going to be a relief for everyone.”

Hicks was joined on the call by lead analyst Paul Azinger, and commentators Brad Faxon and John Wood. Reporters were permitted to only ask questions about the US Open, so the four did not delve into Tuesday’s explosive news. Except to say that coverage of the year’s third major won’t delve into the explosive news. And probably what viewers want.

“When [Masters chairman] Fred Ridley had all these players from LIV come in and compete against the PGA Tour players for the first time [in a major], he said, ‘Look, we’re going to all get along. There’s going to be no distractions here,’’’ said Faxon, the former tour player added to NBC/Golf Channel this year. “And I think the USGA has the ability to do that as well. Say, ‘Let’s make this about the US Open, let’s not make this about two different tours.’ … The message is going to be the same as what Fred Ridley said at the Masters—let’s play golf and let’s all get along.”

Azinger, the network’s lead analyst, said that producer Tommy Roy will set the tone for the team, so he wasn’t worried about coverage getting off track. Not one bit.

“When we show up, trust me, it is all business and it is all live golf,” said Azinger, who shot 73 at LACC to qualify for his first US Open in 1983. “Everything that Tommy Roy and Tommy Randolph and their crew … there are too many people to name … the preparation and the scouting that went into showcasing this golf tournament, Thursday is when that all clicks into gear. The second we see Tommy Roy’s face, we’re going to know what our priority is and that’s live golf. Not opinions and not innuendos. We know we have the two best producers in the world trying to produce a US Open to the best of their ability and we’re going to try to call it and it is going to be a relief to everybody because it’s live golf.”

Wood, the former tour caddie, added, “All the outside noise is going to go away once you’re inside the ropes; hitting shots or calling shots, that noise just goes away.”

Ben Hogan won the last US Open in L.A., in 1948 at Riviera Country Club. And it was at Riviera in early 1950 that he made his miraculous comeback to golf less than a year after his near-fatal auto accident in 1949. It was the stuff of Hollywood—which, of course, turned into exactly that with a movie, “Follow the Sun.” Nothing so dramatic is likely to unfold next week as Matt Fitzpatrick defends his title, but that doesn’t mean a great story isn’t waiting to be told.

“Sports is the best reality show on television,” Hicks said. “Again, this US Open, I think it comes at the perfect time. Sports has a way of winning the day. I think our game needs it now more than ever. It’s the perfect venue to deliver all of that. We’re right in the middle of Hollywood. Let’s write a great Hollywood script. I think that’s the best way to counter everything we’ve seen in golf.”

The post US Open 2023: Don’t expect to hear any PGA Tour-Saudi talk during NBC’s coverage at LACC appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Stephen Hennessey and Daniel Rapaport
In our latest instalment of the “Great Golf Debates,” our Daniel Rapaport and Stephen Hennessey tackle the question: Which modern players would make the best announcers?

Rapaport: Before we start hand-picking the guys to succeed Nick Faldo and Paul Azinger, let’s first agree on some criteria: What makes a good golf analyst? These are the intangibles:

Credibility. With all due respect—and remember I’m saying with all due respect, which means I can now say whatever I want (shoutout Ricky Bobby)—no one cares what you have to say unless you’ve had significant success in your career. Johnny Miller could talk trash about players because Johnny Miller was one of the best players in the world, as was Nick Faldo. You don’t have to have won a major to know about golf, but you have to have won a major for the general population to give a crap about what you know about golf.

Well-spoken. The ums, uhs, you knows, those need to be few and far between. And you have to provide that next-level insight, going deeper than just “that’s a good shot to that pin.” Tell us why that’s a good shot to that pin, tell us what your thought process was like when playing to pins like those, tell us that he’s been practicing that little draw to access those pins.

The cajones to be honest. SO many golf broadcasters try to be as inoffensive as possible. What results is boring, vanilla television where all the guy does is talk about how good these guys are. We loved Johnny so much because he wasn’t afraid to rip into guys.

Not necessarily a pre-requisite, but a soothing voice/accent is a major plus. Faldo’s British, so that obviously helps a ton. Azinger has a smooth southern drawl. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the South African (Trevor Immelman) and Australian (Ian Baker-Finch) accents. Give me the option to listen to an American say something and a non-American, and nine times out of 10 I’m going with the non-American.

Hennessey: You left out a couple other things:

Quick wit. You need to think fast but cleverly. It’s one thing to be smart and articulate, but you need to not only arrive at your opinion but deliver it to a viewer quickly and succinctly. We want entertainment and insight. Delivered within seconds. Old golf writers like Henry Longhurst and Dan Jenkins were great at this. It’s a lot easier to craft a tweet, taking minutes to do so. You’re live on a broadcast: Can you deliver?

And probably most importantly, how about some things to avoid:

Repeating yourself. There’s nothing worse than verbal ramblings on air. You know it when you hear it: The same point uttered over and over. It’s a sign of not having anything interesting to say. Announcers needs to be observant and able to contextualize things, but perhaps most importantly, they should cognizant of when not to talk … or not to talk too much.

Talking over a great moment. The best announcers say they want to let moments have air. Think about Verne Lundquist’s ‘Yes, sir!’ call of Jack Nicklaus’ putt on 17 at the ’86 Masters. Or his call of Tiger’s chip-in at the ’05 Masters. He made his call, then the viewer soaks in the moment with the crowds as Lundquist stayed silent. Dan Hicks is great at this as well. And notice how Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo let the moment live as Tiger walked off the 18th green after his Masters victory last year. Any new announcer needs to be confident enough not to feel the need to fill the air with commentary when a significant moment presents itself.

OK, let’s get off our soap box. So who can we see from today’s players being good golf announcers:

The first I’d propose is Zach Johnson. His interviews are usually very interesting. He’s a very introspective, intelligent person. He also understands the analytical part of the game. ZJ was one of the first tour pros to embrace the statistical and data revolution in golf. The Iowan doesn’t waste words, either. He’ll make his points, then he’s onto his next one. Like I said, we can’t stand folks who repeat themselves. He’s also got a sneaky sense of humor. I know, you might not think of him as a funny guy. But he can laugh at himself and is self-effacing, which typically makes someone likable.

And like you said, Danny, the credentials. Well, we’re talking about a two-time major champ at St. Andrews and Augusta. And someone who’s made more than $45 million in on-course earnings alone in his career. We know he doesn’t need the money, but if he wants to stay active when he retires, we’ll hope he considers the broadcast booth. He’d be rather good.

One more name who’s in a lot of ways very different: Pat Perez. Double P will always tell it like it is. He might need a bit of a censor if he’s on network TV. But his stories and his insights are entertaining and pointed. He’d be a riot broadcasting golf. If there’s ever an uncensored, digital broadcast of live golf, we can think of nobody better than Pat Perez. He’d shine when he could drop a cuss word here and there. And fine, he’d still be worth a look if he needs to trim out the choice language. He has been good on Turner Sports – he did the Match with Tiger and Phil in November and was one of the lone highlights. And his SiriusXM shows are hilarious. I had a chance to interview Double P a few years back, and told him I wouldn’t take more than 15 minutes of his time. He and I ended up shooting the breeze for about 45 minutes. What a guy.

Pat Perez
Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images

Rapaport: Yes, Patty P (is that a thing?) certainly came to mind, but I’m afraid he doesn’t have the playing resume to be a serious contender to end up being the main guy for one of the main networks. Which, I suppose, is what we’re trying to find in this hypothetical think-piece. Another couple guys who would be great, but need a bunch more wins and a major before they’re in the discussion: Eddie Pepperell and Max Homa. Pepperell’s simply one of the funniest, most outlandish athletes in the world right now, though I’m not sure he could be trusted with a microphone, seeing as he pressed send on a certain tweet involving Jack Nicklaus and a sock. Homa is fun to listen to—he has a podcast with Fox Sports’ Shane Bacon—and the master at roasting people’s swings, so you have to think he’d have some fun with the Konica Minolta Bizhub Swing Vision camera, which is certainly not a thing anymore.

Now, from the More Accomplished File: How about Jordan Spieth? Obviously, long, long way to go before he’d be willing to consider such a thing, but he’s already basically giving us play-by-play with his constant self-talk and banter with his caddie, Michael Greller. Spieth is cerebral, he’s honest and he already has a unique perspective, having been crowned the next Tiger Woods before falling into a curious, concerning lull.

Another guy who I think could be fantastic is Adam Scott. He has the accent, and he has the looks. That much is for certain. He’s also one of the smarter players on Tour and one of the best quotes out there. My only concern is he’s rather serious, often teetering toward humorless, which is a non-starter for a broadcaster.

Hennessey: Spieth’s a great call. Cerebral and dead honest, even with himself and his recent struggles. Likeable qualities, and I can see that translating to the booth. Like you said, we’re both confident his transition to broadcasting is decades away.

Pepperell could join Perez in the booth on some global, digital-first operation where they tell it like it is. That’d be laughs. Perez is much closer to calling it quits than Eddie P, so that’s a pipe dream.

Adam Scott would be cool. He’s as thoughtful as any tour pro I’ve heard speak. Geoff Ogilvy is in that same category, if not to an even stronger degree. He’s astute and enlightening on all aspects of golf. Plus he has the accent like his countryman Scotty. Ogilvy’s done a little broadcasting for our sister company, GolfTV, but seeing him get more opportunities as he winds downplaying would be a home-run call.

Geoff Ogilvy served as an assistant captain on the International Presidents Cup team last year, and his insights and analysis would be welcomed in a bigger way on TV. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Let’s cap it off with one more possibility: Phil Mickelson. Phil fancies himself as the smartest guy in any room he’s in. He’s well-spoken, smart, and can be honest. He might need a bit of a filter, but he’s one of the most well-liked players of his generation. He’d be a hit in the booth. I’m not sure his retirement plans include announcing, but at the right price, maybe he could be convinced. Maybe we’d have a Bones and Phil reunion … how cool?

Rapaport: Yeah, of course Tiger and Phil were the first to come to mind. Watching Tiger dissect his final round of the Masters on that CBS re-run a couple weeks back was a fascinating peak into his incredible golf mind, though you do get the sense he wouldn’t care enough about anyone else’s play to stick around in a booth. That’s just the kind of guy he is. Phil, on the other hand, he likes to talk and talk and talk, and likes it even more when people are listening. But if we’re being honest, neither of those guys would ever take on the job. They certainly don’t need the money, and they certainly won’t want to be on the road 15-odd weeks a year well into their 50s and 60s. But yeah, definitely looking forward to having Tiger in the booth for a few holes during the 2046 Genesis Invitational.

The post Which tour player would make a great modern-day announcer? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Strege
NBC’s telecast of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Saturday was less about the golf and the well-oiled chorus at the boisterous 16th hole. It was more about saying goodbye.

Johnny Miller was working his final broadcast as an analyst for NBC Sports, ending a 29-year run, and it was an emotional sendoff that hit all the right notes, including those from Jake Trout and the Ballwashers. NBC’s Peter Jacobsen, aka Jake Trout, introduced a song, “I’m Gonna Miss Johnny Miller.” It included Miller uttering the forbidden word, choke, on which his broadcast career turned, in his very first broadcast. It came on the 72nd hole of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1990, when the same Peter Jacobsen faced a long-iron second shot, all carry over water while attempting to win the tournament.

“This is absolutely the easiest shot to choke on,” Miller said, seconds before Jacobsen pulled it off en route to a victory.

Miller worked without an internal editor, a refreshing change in television golf. He did not mince words, a reminder of which he offered early in the telecast, when Scotland’s Russell Knox fanned a birdie putt well left of the hole on the 16th green.

“That was about as good as the food in Scotland,” Miller said.

“There we go,” NBC’s David Feherty said in response. “Atta boy, Johnny. Keep it coming.”

Miller’s partner in the booth, Dan Hicks, called it “springing his A-game.”

RELATED: 7 questions with Dan Hicks on Johnny Miller: The quirks you don’t see, Johnny’s “legendary lexicon,” and what he’ll miss most about Miller

His honesty was alluded to among the tributes pre-recorded. Rickie Fowler noted that Miller, “kicked me in the butt a few times. In a good way.” Patrick Reed cited Miller’s insisting he supplement his patented draw with a fade. “I’ve got to thank you for being at Doral and busting my chops for always hitting a draw,” he said. “Now I’m a little bit more rounded player. I can hit both shots. Thanks for that.”

“Sometimes a father to his son says some things that sound a little tough, but it’s for the right reasons,” Miller replied. “I feel like I almost look over these young guys and want them to step it up and move up a notch. Sometimes it takes some commentary to get them to check things out.”

CBS’ Jim Nantz, among others from broadcasting, expressed his “undying respect for you, what you’ve done for the game. A true guardian of our sport. On behalf of all my colleagues who also admire you so deeply, congratulations on such a fantastic career, and thank you for what you’ve done for our sport.”

NBC’s NFL analyst Cris Collingsworth called his approach “gut-level honesty.”

President Donald Trump complimented Miller on his analysis. “I’ve tried to copy it, but it hasn’t worked out the same way,” he said. “Congratulations on two incredible careers and maybe most importantly on an incredible family.”

Nearing the end of the broadcast, each member of the NBC crew bid him adieu, none more emotionally than Roger Maltbie, who like Miller grew up in California’s Bay area.

“Johnny, a chance to speak from the heart,” Maltbie said, wrestling with his emotions. “You’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was 12, 13, you were 16, 17, you were winning all the junior tournaments and I wanted to be like you. In ’66, at age 19, you played so great at the Olympic Club [in the U.S. Open] and all the junior golfers in Northern California wanted to be like you.

“We got a chance to share golf’s greatest mulligan. Got to do this for 27 years with you. It’s bittersweet. I’m going to miss you. I hope you catch the biggest fish you ever caught in your life. And I hope you’re the grandpa you want to be.”

Through it all, Miller fought back tears. He thanked the viewers for accepting “my form of commentating, which was not normal,” he said. He likely leaves with no regrets, nor should he, even for those comments that rankled players. Jimmy Roberts summed it up neatly in a piece on Miller during GolfChannel’s part of the Phoenix Open telecast on Saturday.

“He worked in service to the people on their couches,” Roberts said, “not to the people on the range.”

The post Johnny Miller’s farewell: An NBC sendoff that had him, well, choking up appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
For nearly three decades, Johnny Miller has been a staple of golf and sports television. But riding shotgun for a record-breaking 19 of those years has been NBC play-by-play man Dan Hicks. Just hours before the two began—and ended—a 20th consecutive year of sitting side-by-side in the 18th-hole tower with the retiring Miller’s final broadcast from the Waste Management Phoenix Open, we talked to Hicks about his longtime booth partner.

RELATED: Johnny Miller’s farewell: An NBC sendoff that had him, well, choking up

1. What do you remember about the first time you met him or worked with him? Was he an intimidating presence?
Actually, he doesn’t remember, but I was at Tucson Open as just a middle-school kid down the road. My mom would get me out of school because she was a big fan of the golf tournament, and Johnny Miller would come in and win every year by multiple shots. I think I might have asked him for an autograph. So then after I got a job in Tucson at the local NBC affiliate, I interviewed. So that was the first time I actually met him and he gave me a fantastic interview about TPC courses. Time goes on and the next time I saw him was when I first got to NBC Sports in 1992. He was at the Players Championship, and he didn’t know me. I was the new kid. I’ll never forget he was on a golf cart near the television compound and I walked by and he slaps the open seat next to him and goes, “Get in, champ, I’ll show you the course.” And I was like, you’ve got to be kidding me. I cannot believe this is happening. He couldn’t have been nicer. He showed me around TPC Sawgrass, and I’ll never forget that. To go on from there and not only work with him, but share the tower with him has been a dream come true.

2. Once you guys were in the booth together, did the chemistry come right away? And did you think you guys would spend a record amount of time together?
You never know how the chemistry is going to go. And I would say it wasn’t one of those “Oh, this is the greatest thing ever” instantly. I think Johnny was keeping a close eye on me. He’d obviously heard me being on another tower for years, but sitting up next to Johnny is an entirely different story. I kind of had to earn his respect. That takes time, that takes shows. But I think he quickly saw how passionate I was about it and how dedicated I was to it and how I could help him even become better than he was. And it just evolved into great chemistry where we knew what to expect of each other through an unspoken language. So it didn’t take long, but I had to earn his trust.

3. Is there a tournament that you guys worked together that stands out? That you guys seem to reminisce about most?
There have been so many incredible moments through the years, but it always seems to go back to Tiger’s win at the 2008 U.S. Open. It was magical in so many ways. … I thought as we walked out of booth on Saturday after Tiger made those two eagles—one of which Johnny predicted that changed the entire complexion of the championship—I told Johnny, “Remember this day. I don’t know how many years we’ll get to do this, but it won’t get any better than that.” So the next day, he sinks the putt to tie Rocco and I said, “Forget about what I said last night. This is the best.”

We were counting up tournaments, and Tiger, obviously, has won more times with Johnny in the booth than any other player. And it’s been amazing to share the spotlight with Johnny with Tiger right there with us. When I first got in the booth, one of my first events was Tiger’s second U.S. Amateur win at Newport Country Club. I’ll never forget, Tiger was playing Buddy Marucci and Johnny said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he stuffs this in there and just ended it,” and that’s exactly what he did. So we’ve done 24 times, including those two U.S. Amateurs, Tiger won. So we’ve come full circle here. We go back to 1995 when he won for the first time with Johnny in the booth and then you go back to East Lake last year. So it’s fitting Johnny’s first and last shows with me and Tiger coincided with Tiger victories. So it’s pretty poetic how that finished.

4. What’s something fans at home don’t know about Johnny? I always wonder how he spends commercials. Are snacks ever involved?
There’s a lot of great camaraderie in the booth by everybody. Some of the best stuff comes during commercial breaks. We needle Johnny. Johnny’s got a reputation of giving it to the players, but he gets needled a lot. Roger gives him the needle. We all have fun with him. I remember one time at the Bob Hope, Eddie Van Halen was there and we got into this debate at the commercial over who is the best guitar player ever. And we’re going maybe it’s Eddie, maybe it’s Eric Clapton, maybe it’s Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Johnny goes, “Well, I think Glen Campbell is a pretty good player.” We’re like “Glen Campbell!” We gave him an endless hard time for that. But that was Johnny. He was his own guy.

Cy Cyr

I’ve done 232 events with him. And I would say 100 of those he’s done in bare feet, which people don’t know. I’ve told the story this week about how he had his own Cheez Whiz can and that was a part of his menu by our longtime 18th-tower stage manager Kathy Noce, who also put his name on tuna fish can, which she just did for the very last time. He likes a can of tuna with a little tabasco sauce. It’s not always the most nutritious, but he’ll munch on things, he’s always grazing. So yeah, there are all sorts of little quirks and we actually gave him a bag with all the little things he likes at his going away party with the crew on Thursday night. So if he misses us, he can look at that bag and remember all the cool things that happened in the tower through the years.

5. Have you played golf with him? What’s he like on the course?
I have. Not as much as I would have liked to, but it never was one of his favourite things to do on the road. He plays most of his golf with his sons and his family. But I was fortunate enough to get him out on the golf course. We’d always play during Players Championship at a really cool course called Pablo Creek. We would usually only go about 9 holes, but it was so fun. Inevitably, I get asked if we’ve played and what it’s like, and first of all, he’s a much better player than he leads on. But more importantly, to watch him in his 60s and now 70s, he still has that great action that is so him. So to just be standing next to him all these years later and watch it is pretty cool.

6. Do you recall a moment where he said something that shocked you? And what’s your favourite Johnny Millerism?
Wow. A moment when he shocked me? There were a lot of them. I’d probably say at the 2000 U.S. Open. It was my very first U.S. Open and Tiger was on 15th tee and Johnny started saying, “I’ve got this hunch Tiger is going to do something historic this week, he’s going to set all sorts of records, and he’s going to blow away the field and say ‘see you later, guys.’” This was 14 holes into the first round. And I looked over at him as if to say, “Are you really going with this, right now?” It kind of left me speechless. And I just said something like, “Well, we’ve got a lot of golf left, we’ll see.” And lo and behold, he wins by 15. That’s probably the boldest thing I’ve ever heard him say that came true, but there are just too many to document.

As for the Johnny Miller lexicon, it’s legendary. My favourite may be one that got left behind with all the chunk-and-runs and green light specials. We’re doing our first U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 1995, and Johnny looks out at the native rough, the fescue, and goes, “Well, one of the keys this week will be to keep it out of the Dingle Dangles.” And I’m thinking to myself, did that just come to him? And it did. So we’ve had a running joke through the years, especially when we’ve gone back to Shinnecock, we say, “You’ve got to keep it out of the dingle dangles.”

7. What will you miss most about sitting next to Johnny?
I’ll miss most, in addition to the broadcasting brilliance, and just never a dull moment and every single show he makes so interesting, I’ll miss just as much just being with him. Some of the things we talk about in the tower before we go on the air. It’s not all golf, it’s not all research. We talk about life, we talk about family. He has given me more nuggets of wisdom about being a good father, being a good husband, and being a good friend than anyone I’ve ever known in my life. So that is what I’m going to miss the most.

The post 7 questions with Dan Hicks on Johnny Miller: The quirks you don’t see, Johnny’s “legendary lexicon,” and what he’ll miss most about Miller appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

RELATED: Why Paul Azinger is the perfect replacement for Johnny Miller

In a teleconference with media to formally introduce Azinger, NBC Sports lead producer Tommy Roy detailed how the deal came together for the analyst over the past few months. He also revealed the secret — and humorous — code name Azinger was given to try to keep a lid on his hire: Ruby Tuesday. Seriously.

Why Ruby Tuesday? Take it away, Tommy:

“I wanted to meet at a place where there was a pretty good chance we wouldn’t be recognised from people in the world of golf. So we decided to meet halfway, and Paul got to Ocala and we found a Ruby Tuesday’s just off the freeway, so that’s where we met.”

I mean, Ruby Tuesday is a decent enough spot with a top-notch salad bar, but was there not a Chili’s in the area? Anyway, Roy went on:

“Whenever we have big-time deals at NBC, we operate in total secrecy, so from that time forward when we had any internal texts or communications on this, we always referred to Paul as Ruby Tuesday.”

Love it. Now what’s the over/under on when Dan Hicks calls his new booth partner that?

The post NBC had a fantastic code name for Paul Azinger while it secretly recruited him appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
From winning some of golf’s biggest events to talking about them, Johnny Miller has carved out a special place in golf history. But after five decades of making a living off the game he loves, Miller is walking away.

“It just seemed like a nice round number,” Miller told GolfDigest.com on Monday. “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.”

Miller has spent the past 29 years working for NBC/Golf Channel, the last of which was a one-year deal that took him through 2018. He had been toying with retirement for the past few years, though, and gave serious thought to making his final event the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where Miller won his second and final major in 1976. So news of the World Golf Hall of Famer calling it quits wasn’t a total shock, but his voice will certainly be missed by golf fans.

And although Miller leaves open the possibility that he “might poke his head in” from time to time, he’s decided his last official (and only remaining) event will be next year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open, which will be broadcast on NBC with CBS having the rights to Super Bowl LIII.

“It was my idea,” Miller said of making Phoenix, where he had so many great memories as a player, his final tournament. “I was not going to announce this during the playoff events or the Ryder Cup, because it would have been selfish to do that and take away from those events. I was always known as the ‘Desert Fox.’ My best golf, besides final round at Oakmont, came in the desert, especially in 1975 when I won by 14 shots in Phoenix and by nine shots in Tucson. I was playing at a level of golf those two weeks as good or better than I’ve ever seen anyone hit the ball.”

While the Johnny Miller Era on NBC is coming to an end, the network appears to have found a worthy replacement in the booth. Sources confirmed to GolfDigest.com that Miller will be replaced by Paul Azinger, something that was first reported by Golfweek.

Miller, however, couldn’t confirm the Azinger hire. While he said “I’d like to tell you I had a say in my successor,” he believed NBC/Golf Channel was still “kicking around some names.” The network is expected to make an announcement shortly.

Azinger, 59, is the current lead analyst for Fox Sports’ coverage of the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. According to Golfweek, Azinger is expected to remain in that position while working for NBC/Golf Channel.

If Azinger is the man for the job, he’ll inherit some big shoes—and a seasoned squad to which Miller will have a hard time saying goodbye.

“I’m going to miss them a lot, especially when I see them doing the tournaments I did. That’s going to be the hardest part,” Miller said. “Dan [Hicks] and I have gotten really close. He’s such a good guy and really good and what he does. Dan and Gil Capps [NBC/Golf Channel’s head of editorial research] make it like a safety net. Dan is so good that even if I have a brain cramp, he can fill in for me. The team is so good. All the guys out there, Gary Koch, Roger Maltbie, they’re just a super team.”

The post Johnny Miller to retire from NBC/Golf Channel after one more event; Paul Azinger to be named replacement appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Johnny Miller was not in the 18th tower for NBC Sports, his chair alongside Dan Hicks being filled instead by Gary Koch. So there was no “chunk-and-run” talk for Woods’ chip in on No. 9 and no talk about “green-light specials” as Tiger attacked Innisbrook’s par 5s. Too bad.

But don’t fret, there’s a good reason for Miller’s absence while Tigermania grabbed hold of the golf world again. Simply put, he was never supposed to be in Tampa this week.   

Miller, who is in his 29th year working for NBC, has long kept a somewhat limited schedule. And the plan was always for him to begin his season in the booth at Bay Hill next week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational after skipping last week’s WGC-Mexico Championship and this week’s Valspar Championship. Also, Koch, with his Tampa ties, has traditionally held down the role as main analyst at Innisbrook.

Miller, who turns 71 next month, thought about retiring last year, specifically, with NBC broadcasting the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, where he won the second of his two majors. However, shortly before that tournament, Miller re-upped with NBC Sports on a one-year extension that will take him to the end of 2018.

So we’ll see—and more importantly, hear—Johnny soon. Good for us and good for him, because he’s been missing a lot of entertaining golf these past two weeks.

The post For those of you wondering where Johnny Miller is, don’t fret, he’ll be back soon appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.