Johnny Miller's U.S. Open Scoring Record Has Finally Been Surpassed, But It Won't Be Forgotten

Johnny Miller was on site in Los Angeles this week, where per usual he told stories about his final round at the 1973 Open at Oakmont -- and why his record will still always have a special place in golf history.

LOS ANGELES – Johnny Miller is understandably proud of the 63 that for 50 years stood unsurpassed as the lowest score in U.S. Open history. Five others matched it, but nobody beat it—until Thursday, when both Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele shot 62 at Los Angeles Country Club.

It was only a day earlier that Miller, 76, reminisced about the round for only the millionth time. He was in town to receive the United States Golf Association’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award.

Somewhat reclusive since his broadcasting career ended in 2017, Miller was not only coaxed into coming to Southern California for the ceremony that included more than a dozen family members, but he spoke with the media as well.

At one point, Miller was asked about the inevitability of a 62 in a U.S. Open, and how he might feel about it.

"I shot 63 on the final day," Miller said of his round at Oakmont in the 1973 U.S. Open. The secret of a 63 is the fact that I shot it on Sunday and it was enough to win the U.S. Open. There will be guys that will shoot 61 or 62, but can they do it on Sunday to win? That's what makes the round what it is.

"It wouldn't have done any good if I finished second. It would have been a nice round, but the fact that to win it and to beat Arnold Palmer in his backyard ..."

Miller has never been shy about talking about that round, and he’d often referenced it during broadcasts which spanned 1990 to 2017, sometimes to the dismay of viewers. Then again, if ever there was a round to boast about and recount, the first 63 ever shot in a major championship would seem to qualify.

In 2000, Golf Magazine ranked it the best round in golf history, and while there are undoubtedly other contenders, there is no denying its place in the annals of the game, especially as it came in the final round and helped him win.

To look closely at the final round is to marvel at what Miller accomplished.

He birdied the first four holes, his only bogey coming at the 8th—where he three-putted. He then rebounded with a near-eagle and an easy birdie at the 9th, with more birdies at the 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th. His round ended with three pars, missing a 10-footer for birdie at the 17th and lipping out at the 18th.

Miller missed just two fairways and hit all 18 greens in regulation.

During the first two rounds, Miller played with Palmer, bettering him by two strokes. A Saturday 76—Miller was unnerved after leaving his yardage book in the hotel room—seemingly knocked him out of contention.

Palmer, who had not won a major since 1964 and at age 43 would get his last great opportunity at Oakmont, was clearly the buzz going into the final round. He was in a four-way tie for the 54-hole lead with John Schlee, Jerry Heard and Julius Boros.

Tom Weiskopf was a stroke back with Lee Trevino in a group two back and Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player four back.

There was some firepower, not to mention name recognition, at the top of the leaderboard.

Miller was six strokes behind but had closed to within two before the leaders had even teed off when he opened with four birdies in a row and got to the lead with his birdie run on the back nine. He closed with a 31 and a the 63 that easily could have been lower.

It was the first time a score of 63 had been shot in a major championship, and no player—until Fowler and Schauffele—ever shot 62.

In fact, just five more players managed to shoot 63 at a U.S. Open. Nicklaus and Weiskopf did it at Baltusrol in 1980 at a tournament Nicklaus went on to win. It didn’t then happen again until 2003 at Olympia Fields, where Vijay Singh shot 63 in the second round but Jim Furyk won.

Justin Thomas shot 63 at Erin Hills in 2017 when Brooks Koepka went on to win; and Tommy Fleetwood shot 63 in the final round at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, narrowly missing a birdie putt on 18 for a 62 that would have tied him with Koepka, who won.

It’s rare territory and the fact that Fowler and Schauffele both passed it with apparent ease on Thursday is a bit of a shock. Both players started on the back nine, with Fowler making 10 birdies and two bogeys while Schauffele had eight birdies and no bogeys.

Schauffele had a 28-foot birdie put on the 9th green to shoot 61, but left it short.

Even he cautioned afterward that it’s only Thursday and there’s a long way to go. "It’s literally just the first day of the tournament," he said. "It’s a good start."

For Miller, his 63 was what he needed to win.

"Every guy who was any good at all from Palmer, Nicklaus, (Gary) Player, (Lee) Trevino, all the guys who were in front of me," Miller recalled. "It wasn’t like it was a bunch of guys you didn’t know who they were. It was just all the who’s who in golf were vying for that U.S. Open at Oakmont. I had to go through all those guys to win it outright."

And Miller added: "There will be guys that will shoot lower scores, but can they do it on Sunday to win the U.S. Open and pass up the kind of guys that I passed up? That's what makes the story or the round honorable. Makes it cool."