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Johnny Miller

United States · born , San Francisco, California, USA

2major championships

Summary

  • First major 1973 U.S. Open
  • Last major 1976 The Open
  • Ryder Cup 2 Cups · 2-2-2 · 3 points (50.0%)
  • Runner-up in majors 4 times

Wins

  1. 1973 U.S. Open Oakmont C.C. · 279 (-5) · by 1 stroke from John Schlee
  2. 1976 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · 279 (-9) · by 6 strokes from Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus

Near misses

  1. 1971 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Charles Coody · 281
  2. 1973 The Open Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · runner-up to Tom Weiskopf · 279
  3. 1974 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished 10 · 294 (+10)
  4. 1975 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Jack Nicklaus · 277
  5. 1975 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished T3 · 280 (-8)
  6. 1977 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T9 · 284 (+4)
  7. 1981 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Tom Watson · 282

Ryder Cup

2 Cups, 6 matches: 2 won, 2 lost, 2 halved, 3 points. Foursomes 2-0-0, four-ball 0-0-2, singles 0-2-0.

  1. 1975 Laurel Valley Golf Club USA · USA won 21–11 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points
  2. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points · automatic

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Charles Coody's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1976 Open In the final round, 19-year-old 54-hole leader Ballesteros double-bogeyed the 6th and triple-bogeyed the 11th, while Miller eagled the 13th on his way to a closing 66.
  2. 1976 Open Ballesteros eagled the 17th, then played a chip-and-run between two bunkers at the 18th to tie Nicklaus for second.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1976 The Open

    Royal Birkdale Golf Club · 279 (-9) · by 6 strokes from Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus

    In the final round, 19-year-old 54-hole leader Ballesteros double-bogeyed the 6th and triple-bogeyed the 11th, while Miller eagled the 13th on his way to a closing 66.

    Ballesteros eagled the 17th, then played a chip-and-run between two bunkers at the 18th to tie Nicklaus for second.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1976.

    Career line, 1971–1981

    Masters
    1971 Masters: runner-up to Charles Coody1975 Masters: runner-up to Jack Nicklaus1981 Masters: runner-up to Tom Watson
    U.S. Open
    1973 U.S. Open: won
    The Open
    1973 The Open: runner-up to Tom Weiskopf1974 The Open: finished 101975 The Open: finished T31976 The Open: won1977 The Open: finished T9
    Ryder Cup
    1975 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-11981 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-1-1
    19751980

    11 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Johnny Miller was born on April 29, 1947, in San Francisco, California, USA. Miller won 2 major championships: 1 U.S. Open (1973) and 1 Open Championship (1976). Miller played in 2 Ryder Cups for USA (1975, 1981), winning 2, losing 2 and halving 2 of 6 matches for 3 points.

    See Johnny Miller in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (2)

    1. 1973 U.S. Open Oakmont C.C., Oakmont, PA · 279 (-5) · by 1 stroke from John Schlee
    2. 1976 The Open Royal Birkdale Golf Club · 279 (-9) · by 6 strokes from Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1971 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Charles Coody · 281
    2. 1973 The Open Troon Golf Club (Old Course) · runner-up to Tom Weiskopf · 279
    3. 1974 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished 10 · 294 (+10)
    4. 1975 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Jack Nicklaus · 277
    5. 1975 The Open Carnoustie Golf Links (Championship Course) · finished T3 · 280 (-8)
    6. 1977 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T9 · 284 (+4)
    7. 1981 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Tom Watson · 282

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 8 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Miller played 2 Ryder Cups for USA: 6 matches, 2 won, 2 lost, 2 halved, 3 points (50.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 2-0-0, four-ball 0-0-2, singles 0-2-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1975 Laurel Valley Golf Club USA · USA won 21–11 · 2-1-1, 2.5 points
    2. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 0-1-1, 0.5 points · automatic

    Partners, with matches played together: Al Geiberger (1), Billy Casper (1), Tom Weiskopf (1), Tom Kite (1).

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    3. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    4. R&A 1976
    5. GC 1976
    6. R&A 1974
    7. R&A 1975
    8. R&A 1977
    9. GC: 1975 ryder cup
    10. WP 1975
    11. GC: 1981 ryder cup
    12. Wikipedia: 1981 Ryder Cup