Miller holes out from fairway to qualify for U.S. Amateur for first time
After hitting his approach to within tap-in range on the first playoff hole in a U.S. Amateur qualifier on Tuesday, Matt Brown of Brookeville figured he had a good chance to advance to the tournament for the first time.
But Brad Miller of Timonium did Brown one better.
The University of Richmond senior holed his shot from the fairway for an eagle 2 at Piney Branch Golf & Country Club. Miller, 21, fired from 85 yards out, using a 58-degree wedge. The ball landed 10 feet past the hole and spun in, earning Miller his first trip to the Amateur, Aug. 22-28, at Erin Hills (Wis.).
“It’s the most excited I’ve been on a golf course,” Miller said. “When you’re hitting a wedge, it’s a shot you try and make, but you never really think it’s going to go in.”
The win capped a thrilling day for Miller (75-65 – 140), a member at Baltimore Country Club who shot the best tournament round of his life on Tuesday, making seven birdies, to get into the playoff.
“I was ready to have a good round,” Miller said. “I was hitting the ball really well on Monday, but I couldn’t make any putts. I also had to take a penalty when my ball moved.”
Also qualifying on Tuesday were medalist Jonathan Randolph (69-68 – 137), a recent graduate of Mississippi, and Denny McCarthy (71-67 – 138), a recent grad of Georgetown Prep. It is the third straight year that McCarthy, 18, has qualified. The Virginia-bound McCarthy was the youngest player ever from the Washington area to qualify for the U.S. Amateur when he made it in 2009.
But it was Miller who made the biggest splash on Tuesday. Playing No. 1, a downhill, 405-yard par-4 to an elevated green, Miller was unable to see his shot go in the hole.
“Where I was, below the green, I could only see the flagstick,” Miller said. “I started walking when I hit the shot. There were a couple rules officials who let me know.”
Miller hugged his friend and caddie, Arthur Worthington, a player at Dickinson College and former teammate at the Gilman School in Baltimore. Unfortunately for Brown (70-70 –140), a sophomore at Furman, he was one of those at the green who witnessed the shot drop. His consolation was to capture an alternate slot.
Also in the playoff were Duke junior Brinson Paolini (72-68 – 140), who also made birdie on the hole, and Mike O’Neil (71-69 – 140), a 24-year-old member at the same club as Miller.
Earlier in the day, hitting from the same spot in the fairway, Miller made a par at the hole after leaving his approach 15 feet past.
“I hit a [52-degree wedge] the first time and it didn’t spin,” Miller said. “So I hit the 58 in the playoff. It hit about the same spot, but this time it had some spin on it.”
Good decision.
