Next Stop: PGA
Yonsei Zack Miller led his Stanford golf team to its first NCAA championship in 13 years. He's turning pro and drawing comparisons to another golfer named Tiger.
"Everything happened very quickly," said Zack Miller about his 2006-07 season on Stanford University's men's golf team. Coming into the year, the Stanford Cardinal team had not won a tournament since 2000.
"Our goal was to win any tournament throughout the year," said Miller, 23.
At the end of the regular season, the team won six regular season tournaments and was ranked number one in the country. Miller was leading the way.
Still, Head Coach Conrad Ray had his eye on the ultimate prize: the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships. Ray cinched the same title for the Cardinal in 1994 - their last. He was hungry for another.
On the greens of Virginia Commonwealth University in June, the Cardinal men led wire-to-wire and were victorious over University of Georgia by 12 shots to win the NCAA team championship.
"It was an exciting week for everybody involved with Stanford golf. We traveled back from Williamsburg, Virginia to take our final exams. Three days later, we flew to the White House and had the opportunity to meet the president," said Miller. "After only a couple of hours, we were flying home and those were my last days as a senior at Stanford."
With a bachelor's degree in economics in his back pocket, Miller is now embarking on the road to the Professional Golf Association (PGA) - literally. He's been spending most of his summer traveling and competing in tournaments.
"Zack's future is bright," said Ray. "With a Stanford degree, a great personality and physical skills that very few people have, the sky is the limit."
In Miller, Ray sees glimmers of a former Stanford teammate who roared into the PGA.
"Zack has many characteristics that Tiger [Woods] had when he was in college. He hits shots and has length off the tee that few have."
After a tournament in Buffalo, New York, Miller caught up with the Pacific Citizen.
Pacific Citizen: Tell me about your travels.
Zack Miller: Golf has taken me to some amazing places. The game has taken me to Japan, Scotland, Canada, and throughout the United States. At the end of August 2007, I will be turning professional in golf, which will undoubtedly open up more opportunities to travel to new places. I enjoyed my time traveling to Japan and it is possible that I may decide to play the Japanese tour. I will be playing amateur tournaments and preparing to qualify for the PGA tour. I am currently seeking financial backing to help me jumpstart my professional golf career.
PC: How did your grandfather introduce you to golf?
ZM: My grandfather, Ted Narahara, gave me a junior set of golf clubs for my seventh birthday. Every Sunday, we met for breakfast and a round of golf at his golf club in San Francisco. After golf we would stay at the course and practice together on the driving range and putting green. Golf enabled me to have a close relationship with my grandfather. Today, he's one of my biggest fans.
PC: What other sports did you play?
ZM: Before choosing golf, I was a serious baseball player - a pretty decent pitcher. As in baseball, all I wanted to do was hit the ball as far as I could and that was just a lot of fun for me. Even today, most of the time I just want to hit the ball far.
PC: Were you a natural at golf?
ZM: Golf came naturally to me. My hand-eye coordination is strong so I was able to improve quickly. I was always successful in my junior tournaments. After traveling to national tournaments at the age of 10 and experiencing success, my parents thought that golf might be worth pursuing. They have supported me since day one and I am very thankful for that.
PC: Who has been the biggest influence in life when it comes to golf?
ZM: My father, Stan, has influenced me the most, even though he has never played a round of golf. Along with my successes on the golf course, I have experienced many challenges. My father has always been positive and encouraging throughout my career. Golf can be a lonely sport, and his unconditional support has helped me feel like I can do anything.
PC: How many holes-in-one have you had so far? Tell me about your most memorable one.
ZM: I have had two holes-in-one. The most memorable hole-in-one was when I was nine years old while playing with my grandfather. It was a downhill 154-yard hole and I hit a 4-iron. The sun had already gone down and visibility was really low. I remember miss hitting my shot and watching the ball miraculously striking the pin and falling in the cup.
My grandfather couldn't see what happened and was very surprised when I told him what happened. He almost couldn't believe when we walked down to the green and found my ball in the cup. My grandfather has played golf for 50 years and never had a hole-in-one. I had played for only two years and at the age of nine had more holes-in-one than he did.
PC: Do you still use two putters? Why?
ZM: I use a short putter for long putts and a long putter for short putts. I had struggled with putts from under 4-feet at the start of my college year. My putting held me back from having more success than I could have had.
My coach, Conrad Ray, at Stanford recommended that I use a long putter from short range and it instantly fixed my struggles from short range. I kept using my short putter since my distance control was much greater than with the long putter. I realized that almost half of my shots were with the putter so for me it made sense to have two putters that made me feel most comfortable.
PC: Talk to us about how you intend to make it to the PGA.
ZM: I plan on competing in The PGA Qualifying School in September 2007. My goal is to make it either onto the nationwide tour or the PGA Tour in my first year. It is really easy to get lost in the pool of talented players that make up the mini-tour. The faster I can bypass the mini-tours the better. While I know how difficult this road will be, I feel like I have a realistic shot at securing my PGA card.
PC: If you could choose anyone to be your caddy, who would it be?
ZM: I don't have anyone in mind to be my caddy -- anyone out there interested?
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