One final roll and it's tee time for U.S. Open

SAN FRANCISCO -- Dennis Miller was so frustrated by the putt that had almost been good enough to land him in the U.S. Open that he turned away as the ball rolled to a halt. Under his breath, he might have said something like "Fiddlesticks!"

Miller is a 42-year-old working-class club pro from Ohio who once actually had a seasonal job at Fiddlesticks Country Club. On June 4, he had reason to feel as if he never would qualify for the U.S. Open, despite 12 tries. He figured he had just missed his chance to prevail in a four-way playoff for three spots in a sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.

But just as he took a few steps in dejection, he heard spectators around the green cheering wildly. The ball that seemed to have stopped on the lip of the cup had taken one more roll and fallen in. And Miller, the director of golf at Millcreek Metroparks in Canfield, was in the Open.

The clip of his pivotal putt has gone viral on YouTube, and he had the first pretournament news conference Monday at the Olympic Club.

"No, you could not script this story," said the man whose sponsorship logos include an ice cream shop and a pretzel franchise (and whose waistline admittedly identified him as a customer of both). "It's been fantastic. Quite a journey so far."

Andy Zhang of China will make history at the Open. The 14-year-old, who attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., earned a spot in the field Monday when England's Paul Casey withdrew with a shoulder injury.

Zhang will be the youngest player in the history of the Open. Tadd Fujikawa (15 years, 5 months) held the previous mark, which he established at the 2006 Open at Winged Foot.

Zhang, who turns 15 on Dec. 14, was the first alternate out of the Lecanto, Fla., sectional.