Mira Vista A Source Of Pride For Walker Cup Player Miller

By Beth Murrison, USGA

Fort Worth – As Lindy Miller puts it, he's been at Mira Vista Golf Club a long time.

“Before there was grass here, when they were still moving dirt,” he said before he watched with pride as Julieta Granada won the 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at the club.

Former USA Walker Cup teammates Fred Ridley, left, and Lindy Miller catch up at Mira Vista Golf Club Saturday. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

Miller, the vice president of operations at Mira Vista, has been at the club since March of 1986.  Mira Vista opened for play in August of 1987. In those days, the thought of hosting a USGA national championship wasn't even a blip on the radar screen.

But Miller was no stranger to USGA events. He played on the 1977 USA Walker Cup team and participated in 11 USGA championships – six U.S. Opens, three U.S. Amateurs, and two U.S. Juniors. So when the opportunity arose for Mira Vista to host the U.S. Girls' Junior, Miller made sure the club jumped on it.

“It's a big deal,” said Miller. “It's something I'm proud of, for the club to be able to host something like this. Fort Worth has such a rich golf tradition. And given my background, I understand what the USGA means. It's the governing body of golf, and in order to have something like that here is really special.”

USGA President Fred Ridley of Tampa, Fla., who was at Mira Vista Saturday to observe the championship match, was a teammate of Miller's on the 1977 Walker Cup team. The two didn't think they'd seen each other since that match at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, won by the USA, 16-8.

“It was great to get back in touch with him and see how he has done so well here,” said Ridley.  “You can really see how the members respect him and what he's done for the club,”

While at Oklahoma State University, playing with the likes of David Edwards, Bob Tway and Brazil's Jamie Gonzalez, Miller was a member of two NCAA championship teams (1976 and 1978) and two runner-up squads (1975, 1977).  He has seen golf played at the highest level, and even he comes away impressed by the play of the competitors in the field this week.

“They drive it very straight, because the rough's been pretty penal,” he said. “They just manage their game very, very well. A lot of times at young ages, people don't really understand how to manage their game and what shots to hit and what shots not to hit. But these girls are very good at that. They're really well seasoned at an early age.”

Only one player, Granada, came away with then opportunity to take home the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship Trophy, but Miller hopes all the contestants in the 56 th championship will have taken home more than that.

“I hope they enjoyed themselves,” he said. “I hope they appreciate the quality and the experience on the golf course, not only from a conditioning standpoint, but from a design standpoint, allowing them to hit different types of shots, give them different options on different shots, and [that] the golf course had a lot of variety to it.”

According to Ridley, much of the credit for the championship, an overwhelming success this week at Mira Vista Golf Club, goes to his former Walker Cup teammate.

“Having already experienced what these young women did this week, having played in Juniors and Amateurs, he knew what it was all about,” said Ridley. “He really was enthusiastic about bringing the Junior here to be able to give these girls the opportunity to experience that at his home club, and also show them some Texas hospitality.”

Beth Murrison is a Manager with USGA Media Relations. E-mail her with questions or comments at bmurrison@usga.org.

Home / News / Players / Course / History