Johnny Miller was planning on retiring from calling golf in the NBC Sports 18th tower at the end of 2017. This British Open Championship at Royal Birkdale was going to be his major swan song, and then he would walk away at the end of the PGA Tour season at the Tour Championship in September.
Well, Johnny Miller's retirement from broadcasting has been put on hold, at least for a year.
In speaking to Geoff Shackelford at Golfweek, Miller indicated he has signed on to work in the tower alongside Dan Hicks for one more year before calling it quits, he thinks, in 2018.
“I was ready to retire at the end of the year, to be real honest with you. And I’m not sure exactly why, but NBC basically said we need you to do some tournaments next year," Miller said.
Miller and NBC have not set up a schedule for next year, though Miller, who has been at the helm since 1989, believes his bosses at the Peacock will give several potential successors a try in the booth for some of their PGA Tour and other golf events.
“So I haven’t decided 100 percent how many events, but I’m definitely going to do The Open next year, and we’ll see how many,” he said.
Miller seems like a man ready to move on to the next phase of his life, but he also has a loyalty to NBC that includes making sure the job is transitioned to the right person in the right manner.
"It’s a good job, but somebody’s got to take over eventually," he quipped. "I’ve been doing it 28 years, so I’ve had a pretty good run.”
