Arizona Senior: Brian Miller embraces the weather to secure wire-to-wire victory
Brian Miller (left) and John Schaller (Arizona Golf Association Photo)
The 51-player Arizona Senior Amateur Championship field faced a gauntlet of weather conditions throughout the 54-hole stroke play tournament, including temperatures of over 100 degrees each day and a lightning delay during the second round.
Despite that, Brian Miller finished 8-under and completed a dominant, wire-to-wire victory to capture the Senior Division crown, while John Schaller’s steady, even par performance earned him the Legends Division title at TPC Scottsdale - Champions Course.
Miller set the pace by carding back-to-back rounds of 67- the lowest single-round score posted by any player in the tournament. Despite a roller-coaster third round, Miller’s lead never dropped below three strokes.
Miller said that his Senior Amateur run was the best golf he had played in several months, attributing the performance to swing and putting changes that both seemed to work at the same time.
Although Miller’s victory was decisive, he admitted that it was not as easy as it looked due to the challenges of the Champions Course.
“This is a tough course. It’s challenging, you have to make shots, you can't make mistakes, and I made very few mistakes out here,” Miller said.
On the Legends Division side, Schaller faced an uphill battle to capture his title. Three strokes out of the lead after the opening round, Schaller made a run in round two by carding a 69- tied with Terry Ruzzo for the best single-round performance in the Legends Division.
“I played really steady,” Schaller said. “I started off bad yesterday with three bogeys in a row, but I hung in there, stayed positive, made five birdies, and stayed two-under, so I was really proud of myself.”
Ruzzo and Tom Beach finished just one stroke behind Schaller, who birdied the 15th hole to secure his win. A 20-year veteran of AZ GOLF events, Schaller’s victory was particularly meaningful. 18 months ago, he battled leukemia and underwent chemotherapy.
After narrowly missing out on last year’s Arizona Senior Amateur title, Schaller called his triumph this year “a real blessing.”
View results for Arizona Senior Amateur
ABOUT THE
Arizona Senior Amateur
54-holes of individual stroke play at gross within age
divisions. All players must have an active membership
with an AGA Member Club to participate. Individuals
must carry an up-to-date handicap index not exceeding
8.0 under the Rules of Handicapping to be eligible to
participate.
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