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Andy
Miller, son of Johnny Miller, is the first Brigham Young golfer
recruited by coach Bruce Brockbank to make the PGA Tour. (Tribune
file photo)
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Miller,
Wilson Earn Spots With solid Final Rounds
Andy
Miller, son of Johnny Miller, is the first Brigham Young golfer
recruited by coach Bruce Brockbank to make the PGA Tour. (Tribune
file photo)
BY KURT KRAGTHORPE
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Understandably,
Evan Byers was slightly torn when he learned that Andy Miller qualified
for the PGA Tour.
Bruce Brockbank had no mixed feelings whatsoever.
A son of Salt Lake City resident Johnny Miller, Andy Miller was
scheduled to play the 2003 Nationwide Tour, which stops at Willow
Creek Country Club in Sandy. Thanks to a tie for 26th place in the
qualifying tournament's final stage Monday, he's headed to the PGA
Tour.
Dean Wilson, another former Brigham Young star, earned a tour card
with a tie for 11th place at La Quinta, Calif. Ogden's Jimmy Blair,
who faded with a 75-79 finish, will have a partial exemption on
the Nationwide Tour with his tie for 123rd.
"I'm happy for Andy," said Byers, executive director of
the Nationwide Tour's Utah Classic. "Sure, I would have loved
to have him play here, but this shows what happens when you give
a kid a chance. Hopefully, he'll remember that."
Miller played in the Utah Classic in September via a sponsor exemption
and tied for fourth place, then won a tournament in California.
That gave him the comfort of having a place to play next season.
He finished strong in the Q-school, shooting 70-68-74-72-68-71.
Wilson also had a fallback position, having thrived on the Japan
Tour as a six-time winner. After leading the Q-school's final stage
through three rounds, he recovered from a poor fourth round to post
69-65-68-77-72-69.
BYU coach Bruce Brockbank eagerly followed Miller and Wilson's hole-by-hole
performances Monday on the Internet. "It was an exciting day,"
he said. "Every time Andy made a birdie, it seemed like Dean
made a birdie."
Miller is the first ex-Cougar to make the PGA Tour after playing
his full college career for Brockbank, who took over the
program in 1992. "I've never had a kid work as hard as Andy,"
Brockbank said. "He set the stage for our golf program."
Robert McArthur, the pro at Riverside Country Club in Provo, the
Cougars' home course, has strong feelings about Miller and Wilson.
As a freshman, Miller "just changed the whole attitude of all
the guys around him" with his work ethic, McArthur said.
And Wilson worked for McArthur when he needed a place to play after
his BYU days. Even after winning a Japan Tour event, Wilson came
to Riverside and helped clean golf carts in the middle of the night.
"That's Dean," McArthur said.
The 47-year-old Blair, the oldest player in the field, was on the
verge of becoming a big story. He was in contention for a PGA Tour
card through four rounds, but ended up shooting 71-73-71-68-75-79.
Blair probably will find room in the field of about a dozen Nationwide
Tour events.
Casey Martin, who won a court case allowing him to ride a cart in
competition, is the biggest name among those who earned Nationwide
Tour exemptions.
Two players familiar to Utah golf fans earned PGA Tour cards: David
Sutherland, who won the 2001 Utah Classic, and Dave Stockton Jr.,
who teamed with his father to win the 2000 Champions Challenge in
Lehi.
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