SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — Mike Miller hadn’t played the Swan Country Club before competing in Monday’s pro-am at the 18-hole layout in Saugerties. But when Miller steps onto a golf course in Ulster County, he seems to be the favorite whenever he’s in the field.
A two-time winner of the Woodstock Open in 2022 and 2025 and a contender in the YMCA/Wiltwyck Pro-Am in recent appearances, Miller captured the second annual Swan Pro-Am with a blistering 7-under-par 63 on Monday, Oct. 27.
Miller finished four shots ahead of host pro Andrew DeForest, who fired a 3-under 67. Miller earned $2,000 for being the low professional and won the team event with amateur playing partners Craig Miller, Jason Giordano, and Terry Lucky.
A 33-year-old Brewster resident who plays out of Knollwood Country Club in Westchester County, Miller said he always feels comfortable when he plays golf in this neck of the woods.
“It just reminds me so much of home,” Miller said. “I grew up not that far from here and grew up playing golf with Andrew (DeForest), so it’s very comfortable. It’s lovely to come back, and it is nice to play well. You know you have to in order to beat a lot of good players.”
Though he hadn’t played the course before, Miller researched the layout with the “18 Birdies” golf course GPS tracking app to get some sense of where to hit the ball.
“So it’s not like I had no clue,” Miller said. “There’s a few times where you don’t know where you’re going with blind shots. But now that I know where I’m going, I could shoot a lot higher because I played a lot smarter today not knowing where you’re going.”
Starting on the par-4 13th hole, Miller parred his first two holes before making an eagle on the 515-yard, par-5 15th hole. He hit the green in two with a hybrid and then made a 30-footer to kick-start his round.
Miller hit the par-5 18th hole in two shots and two-putted from about 30 feet for a birdie. Following three more pars, Miller was 3-under through nine holes.
He birdied Nos. 4, 5, 8, and 11 on the back nine to get it to 7-under on the day. Miller had no bogeys on his card.
DeForest marveled at Miller’s round. He said a steady wind and cold temperatures made for tough playing conditions.
“It was windy the whole time,” DeForest said. “The course was playing about as hard as it can play. So Mike coming up here and shooting that score blind, never seeing the course, was pretty dang good.”
DeForest was pleased with his round. He made a 50-footer for eagle on the par-5 eighth hole (his 17th of the round) to finish one stroke ahead of third-place finisher AJ Cavotta of Saratoga Springs, who had a 2-under 68. Cavotta is an assistant pro at AndersMattsonGolf, a golf instruction school in Saratoga Springs.
Miller, DeForest, and Cavotta were the only pros in the field to break par.
Former Woodstock Open and YMCA/Wiltwyck Pro-Am winner Nick Dilio of the Atlantic Fields Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla., tied for fourth at 1-over 71 with former two-time Herdegen champion and former Lochmor Golf Course head pro Taylor Walsh and Zack Staub, an assistant pro at the Silo Ridge Field Club in Dutchess County.
Miller said he had a couple more tournaments coming up at the end of the year, and he’s still hoping to qualify for the PGA Tour. He has previously played on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I’ve got time to prepare, but it’s nice to be able to stick around here and play in stuff like this,” Miller said.
Miller’s 63 set a course record for tournaments at the Swan Country Club. DeForest shot a 59 in a casual round of golf at the course.
Scores from other local pros included the Twaalfskill Club’s Jeff Schaller (75), Red Hook Golf Club’s Landon Decker (75), unattached pro John DeForest (76), former New Paltz Golf Course owner Larry Furey (80), Tuxedo Club assistant pro Devlin Walsh (80), and former area pro Bill Reynolds (81).
The field included 23 professionals and 69 amateurs.
