Anyone who knew Jill (Simpson) Miller as a youngster expected big things of her on the golf course when she reached high school.

After all, she came from a golfing family. She said she practically lived at the small country club while growing up in Columbus, a town of about 3,000 in southeast Kansas. And after receiving her first set of clubs at age 10, she began competing - and excelling - in tournaments all across the state and beyond.

The Titans' high school coach, Steve Curran, thought Miller had the potential to be the best high school golfer Columbus ever turned out. But even he couldn't have predicted she would turn out to be one of the best-ever in the state of Kansas.
Miller watched as an eighth-grader as her first cousin, Gina, won the Class 4A state title in 1990 and led the Columbus girls' program to its first state title. Miller then went on win state all four years of her decorated high school career while leading Columbus to three state team titles and a runner-up finish.

That helped the Titans live up their name while recording the most dominant decade in the history of Kansas high school girls' golf. Columbus finished in the top two at state every year in the 1990s (including seven titles), an accomplishment unmatched by even the most dominant girls' programs such as St. Thomas Aquinas and Manhattan.

Curran came to Columbus and started the girls' golf program in 1989, and the Titans went on to finish third that first season. The rest, as they say, is history. Curran left Columbus for nearby Girard in 1997 and retired two years ago.
Curran said he thinks that part of Columbus' success stemmed from the relationships the players developed from early on.


"They were close friends for a long time before high school," Curran said. "And I think once a program gets rolling, it's easier for people to want to be a part of it. The ultimate goal for us was to place well at state, and the biggest competition we had was ourselves."

After winning the regional meet her freshman year, Miller said she didn't really feel any pressure to win the state individual title. She just wanted her team to win. She laughed while recalling what a newspaper reporter asked her after winning it all as a 14-year-old freshman.

"I wasn't sure how to react," she said. "I just said, 'Hopefully, I'll do it three more times.' "

That she did while establishing a 3-handicap, winning 32 of her 38 high school meets, and cementing her legacy as one of the best golfers - male or female - in Kansas prep history.

The summer following her first state championship, Jerry Waugh - a legend at the University of Kansas, who played basketball under Phog Allen - approached Miller at a junior golf tournament. Waugh, now 97, coached the Jayhawks well into his 70s.
"I knew right then and there I would go to KU," Miller said, "and I'm so grateful that I did. He was our coach, but he was more like a grandfather to us. It was a special relationship."

Miller's love for golf began at a young age. The oldest of two girls, she started playing with her dad when she was about 8 years old. She only used four clubs (a pitching wedge, a driver, and 5- and 7-irons) for a couple of years before getting her first full set when she was 10.

"We would be at the golf course from sun up to sun down," she said. "Some days we would play 45 holes. When my sister and I got old enough to do spring break trips, our parents tried to convince us to go to the beach or snow skiing. But she and I just wanted to somewhere to play golf."

Her teammates marveled at how passionate Miller was about the sport.

"Jill was so good even as a freshman, and everyone on the team knew she was the best golfer. But she wanted the team to do well, too," said Kim (Correll) Scripsick, a high school teammate of Miller's for three years. "What really set her apart from a lot of us was her work ethic. She practiced all the time."

All that practice parlayed into a high school career for the ages.

"Jill hit it far and hit it accurate and always managed the course really well," Curran said. "She hit from the tee box to the green as well as anyone I've ever seen."
Following her career at KU, Miller gave up playing much golf for a few years.

"I was so obsessed in high school, and I guess I kind of got burned out," she said. "After college, I got married, started a family, and didn't have time to play golf."

She has since picked it back up and enjoys playing with her husband, Reed, and their daughters - 13-year-old Ellie and 7-year-old Mia.

"It's that time of my life that I really like playing again," she said.

"Golf is a sport unlike any other," Miller added. "It's such a great way to meet so many people – I made some lifelong friends through golf – and you can do this sport your entire life. You can make so many connections, and you don't have to be a competitive golfer. So many great things have happened in my life because of golf."