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By Lauren Deason
PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The last time Johnny Miller played in a professional golf event, Tiger Woods had just won his first Masters and Michelle Wie was just 7 years old.

Needless to say, it's been a pretty long time. Nearly a decade in fact. Miller last teed it up in October of 1997 at the Transamerica, one of only two Champions Tour events of his career.

Johnny Miller is making his first appearance on the Champions Tour since 1997 this week. (WireImage)

Elbow problems, a herniated disk in his back and a myriad of other health issues have kept Miller from the course, but not from the game itself. The outspoken and often blunt former PGA TOUR star, who won 25 events in his prime, is now lead analyst for NBC Sports' golf telecasts and has been broadcasting since the mid-1990s.

"My elbow has been terrible for about eight years. You can actually see a huge hole in it [from cortisone shots]. It was just killing me getting to impact and then I'd flinch from pain. So I had to aim right and hit an ugly hook because I couldn't stick to it. Six months ago it started getting better," said Miller.

He played so well in the 2006 Champions Challenge -- winning the tournament he hosts with son Andy over a highly talented field -- that Miller decided he could give golf another try. Occasionally, though, and preferably in team events like this week's Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf where he will play with good friend Mike Reid in the Raphael Division, a 36-hole, two-man, best-ball competition on Friday and Saturday.

"(You're) really super rusty when you only play a couple of one-day events," Miller said. "Eighteen holes every three months so doesn't keep you real sharp. And I don't even play 18 holes, I play nine holes every couple of months."

This week, though, it didn't take much coaxing to partner with Reid, whom Miller has known since he was 13 years old. That's because he knows that with Reid, it's going to be more fun than work.

"His brother (Bill) was my sparring partner [growing up in San Francisco]," Miller recalled. "He was being taught by the same guy as I was and Mike used to tag along. Bill and I were the same age pretty much. Mike followed in my footsteps, going to Brigham Young University.

"We have a good friendship. I don't see him too much but I'm always pulling for him. When he asked me, bottom line is, if there's anyone I want to play with, if not my kids, it is Mike."

Reid, who just last week was inducted into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame, is glad Miller didn't have any broadcast obligations and could join him on the course this week.

"We so rarely get a chance to play golf together that priority one is to have fun and if we play good that's great," Reid said. "I don't want to come down to the last few holes on Saturday saying 'I wish I wasn't grinding so hard and could have had fun this week.' He's been like a big brother to me."

Reid also thinks having Miller play more often on the Champions Tour would be a good thing, but understands his obligations to family, NBC, his golf academy and golf course design.

"Heavens, look at what Johnny has done in his career," Reid said. "It's a no brainer, sure we miss him [out on the Champions Tour]. How could you not? Someone in the locker room said it best, 'I think you guys will have the biggest crowds this week'. And that's what [the Tour is] about. I think the Champions Tour is built a little like baseball -- fueled in a great part by memories. That's what makes this Tour go for sure."

Unlike Miller, Reid joined the Champions Tour in 2004 and has played a full schedule for several years. His hard work and quiet persistence paid off two years ago, when Reid won the 2005 Senior PGA Championship. Last year, he notched nine top-25 finishes and finished 39th on the Champions Tour money list.

"Mike's bright, dedicated, consistent in life and on the course, and a very humble person. That's the nicest trait anyone can have," said Miller. "Mike has such a good swing and he has kept to the teachings of our teacher."

The pair, who are members of the same Utah church and have six children apiece, said their wives are also close and are looking forward to a week in Savannah.

A return to professional golf probably won't become a habit for Miller, though. For now, he's committed to his television career, which has earned him seven Emmy nods. In his work, Miller strives for the shock factor, or saying something so completely unexpected to capture the audience's attention.

"I try to make golf a little less staid and predictable. My main job as announcer is doing homework, but also to say things people don't expect me to say," said Miller. "If I say something obvious, I might as well stay home."

Miller played in less than 400 tournaments during his whole career but still won 25 times on the PGA TOUR. The two-time major winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member effectively retired from golf at 41 and last won a PGA TOUR event at the 1994 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

He claims he would have tried the Champions Tour if not for his second career in the booth and health problems, which would have kept him physically off the top of the leaderboard and thus frustrated over not being in contention.

"The urge [to play] comes every month, but then I get my fists real tight together and hit myself right here," said Miller, pointing to a spot on his chin. He reminds himself that not enough practice plus health struggles invariably leads to the same conclusion: he's just not fit to play in three-day Champions Tour events.

"If Chi Chi (Rodriguez) and I started a new [Super Senior] Tour, a one-day tour, maybe we'd be alright," Miller said, joking.

But for now, it's enough to just go out and have fun with a close friend.