World Golf Hall of Famer Johnny Miller won 25 tournaments on the PGA Tour during his illustrious career, including a pair of majors: U.S. Open (1973) and The Open Championship (1976). He also finished as the runner-up three times at The Masters (1971, ‘75 and ’81). In 1974, Miller was the leading money winner on the PGA Tour with eight victories, which considerably outpaced the rest of the field. He amassed a then-record $353,201 in prize money, which was not exceeded until 1978, and unseated the great Jack Nicklaus as the Tour's leading money winner for a season. Unsurprisingly, he was also named 1974 PGA Player of the Year.
This lot features the championship trophy awarded to Miller upon winning the Kaiser International Open for his eighth and final tour victory of the ’74 season, which locked up his Player of the Year and Leading Money Winner accolades. Played on September 29th at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, California, the event saw Miller win the
tournament by eight strokes (shooting a 17-under par 271) over runners-up Billy Casper and Lee Trevino. The handsome 24-pound, 34-inch silver trophy rests on a black wooden base. In the center of the trophy it reads “KAISER INTERNATIONAL OPEN Silverado C.C. Winner 1974” and a silver plaque on the black base is engraved with the following words: “JOHNNY MILLER P.G.A. Leading Money Winner P.G.A. Player of the Year 1974.”
The highly successful NBC Golf analyst, who was born and raised in San Francisco, has long been a fixture at Silverado Country Club, having redesigned the North Course in 2011 and run the Johnny Miller Golf Academy on its beautiful wine country confines for several years.
Includes Letter of Provenance from the San Diego Hall of Champions.