When Johnny Miller retired from the broadcast booth after the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, it was clear that he likely wouldn’t be calling the national championship again.
Miller, known for his dramatic win at Oakmont in 1973 with a final-round 63, was proud of his work with NBC Sports on the event. However, Fox Sports had secured a deal with the USGA, and it was expected that the 2014 event, won by Martin Kaymer, would be NBC’s last with the tournament.
A Golfweek team, including current senior writer David Dusek, caught up with Miller as he left the U.S. Open booth for the final time.
“The way I look at it, 20 years is a pretty dang good run,” Miller told Golfweek at the time. “I didn’t think we’d lose it because I thought we were doing really a good job, but money talks and Fox wanted to get into the golf business. It is what it is. We had a great run. If somebody would have said I could do 20 Opens I would have been very happy and I’m still happy.
“But I’m hoping Fox will do a good job of keeping it going.”
Fox did not, in fact, keep it going.
In 2020, the USGA announced that media rights for its championships were moving back to NBCUniversal, ending a 12-year deal with Fox Sports worth roughly $1 billion.
After COVID forced the USGA to reschedule the 2020 U.S. Open from June to September, Fox Sports struggled to find enough broadcast hours, given their other commitments to the NFL, MLB, and college football. Talks between Fox Sports and NBC/Golf Channel ultimately led to NBC taking over completely.
The current NBC Sports agreement is in place until 2026, but Miller had already left the network in 2019 by the time the new deal was made.
When asked about his favorite U.S. Open moments in the booth, Miller mentioned Corey Pavin’s win in 1995 at Shinnecock over Greg Norman, particularly Pavin’s incredible 4-wood approach on the 72nd hole. He also reflected on Tiger Woods’ dominant victory at Pebble Beach in 2000, where he predicted early on that Woods would set a record score and win by a significant margin.