Johnny Miller and an Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser

As anyone who follows pro golf on TV knows, this weekend marks Johnny Miller's final stint as an NBC golf analyst. He retires when this weekend's tournament is over. So the interwebs are full of tributes to him and stories about him, and this photo of him was posted on one of them. I thought it was a neat photo.

 

Good photo, but there's a couple questions I have: is the wagon his? If so, does he still have it?

 

Neat photo indeed.
I doubt the wagon is his. I see a decal in the rear side window, looks like the Masters emblem perhaps?
I'd be willing to bet it was a sponsorship deal where this particular marquee was the vehicle provided for the entire tournament.

 

I didn't post the photo's caption, but, yes, it was taken at The Masters (a tournament he never won), but it doesn't say when. The caption also mentions his family, so that's perhaps his family getting out of the car behind him. So, yes, I would assume this was a courtesy car provided by the tournament. I'm not sure that's a Masters sticker on the rear side glass because their logo always looked something like below, which is from the 1978 Masters. It's always had the oversized flagstick which doesn't appear to be there in the sticker on the car. But it's probably some kind of courtesy-car sticker. Given the style of the Custom Cruiser, the earliest this photo could have been taken was at the 1977 Masters (April 1977), and the latest would have been the 1990 tournament.



There's also some kind of plaque on the rear window and a similar-looking one above the left front wheel, and those are probably also some kind of courtesy-car indication.

 

I assumed it was the Masters because the decal in the window was in the shape of the U.S.A. but I did notice that it wasn't quite the actual Masters logo. Interesting. You would think that it wouldn't be a copyright issue if a vehicle was being used in an official capacity.

 

Oldsmobile had a long-running association with the PGA and provided courtesy cars for years.

 

That is what I suspected, but I couldn't recall for certain.

 

My bet would be 1985. That grey (gun metal metallic) was was I believe a new color that year, plus there is not the “third eye” stop light mounted on the tail gate (1986 and newer). Also agree with the Olds/PGA sponsorship. If you blow up the picture there is a ‘98 and Omega with those identical stickers.

 

Good catch. That is a pre-1986 photo.