Posted Online:
Posted online: August 13, 2007 12:20 AM
Print publication date: 08/13/2007
Miler makes his first and only NCBAm start of
season memorable
By Tom Johnston, tjohnston@qconline.com
LONG GROVE, Iowa -- For lack of anything better to do
this past weekend, Tom Miler decided he would tee it up in the National City
Bank Amateur Tour's Glynns Creek Amateur event.
"It's always nice to come here and say `hi' to
the guys I know," said Miler, noting his wife was working this weekend and
his regular group in Kewanee had scattered.
Well, the 54-year-old did a little bit more than say
hello. He kicked some tail. Miler fired a Sunday-best 3-under 69 to leapfrog
four players and take home the title in his first and only NCBAm
start of the season. The only sub-70 second-round score in the championship
flight gave him a one-stroke victory over Dean Cavanaugh (69-72--141). Brandon Seydel (69-74--143), Sean Cary (73-31--144) and Brian Soucinek (69-75--144) rounded out the top five.
Making the battle at the top even more intriguing was
that Cavanaugh, a guy who is eyeballing some major senior amateur play in a
year-and-half, ended up battling Miler, a guy who has already been in some
national senior amateur events.
With that on the horizon, Cavanaugh said he has been
working harder on his game than in the past.
"The last couple of weeks, I've been hitting it
hard," said Cavanaugh. "I've been hitting balls, playing, at least
doing something for two or three hours a day -- chipping, putting -- and it's
paid off. That kind of stuff gives you confidence."
It wasn't that he was playing poorly, mind you,
scoring in the lower 70s. He said that it was either get serious again or start
boating. He decided it was time to start working on his game for the over-50
set.
Miler, 54, is a guy who has been down that path and
scored in regional and national amateur tournament play. But other commitments
have cut into some of that play of late, not playing as much as he would like.
But this weekend, he showed he still has plenty of game. He joked that it's not
his game that is dwindling, just his common sense. He walked the 7,000-yard
course both Saturday and Sunday in searing heat and had the sweat-soaked shirt
to show for it.
The fact that it was red in color had nothing to with
Tiger Woods' final-round routine. "It was from all the blood," he
joked of the course getting the better of him.
He was shocked to learn that he had actually won.
"I figured one of the guys behind us had won
it," said Miler. "Every time I looked back (at the leaders) they
seemed to be in pretty good shape."
A big swing came on the 7th hole. Miler eagled the
down-wind par-5 with a driver and 7-iron to 7-feet, dropping the putt.
"Coming off a bogey, that was good," said
Miler, who then bogeyed the par-3 8th hole. "Eagles make up for a lot of
mistakes and that did help cover up a couple of screw ups."
Miler was 1-over on the back nine heading to the 18th hole where a driver and sand wedge from 100 yards put him
6-feet from the victory.
"I had missed probably about three in a row from
that same range," said Miler. "I was either due to make one or doomed
to not make one."
His putt dropped.
Then, Cavanaugh couldn't match it.
"The last two holes, I had nice birdie
putts," said Cavanaugh. "I figured if I got one of those and shot 70
or 71 that would be good enough to win it. I was dead
straight in the hole, but two inches short" on both 17 and 18.
And that was the difference.
-- Long ball a winner: Steady Mike Long used a
three-birdie, one-bogey round of 69 to take the senior division title with a
two-day 142 total. Dave Waugh carded six birdies in his final round, but needed
those to offset three bogeys and a double in a 1-under
71 that left him in second at 144.