Former Women's Am Champion Named 2026 Ellen Griffin Rolex Award Recipient
Cindy Miller was announced as the LPGA Professionals 2026 Ellen Griffin Rolex Award Recipient on Thursday. She’ll receive her award in Florida during the 2026 CME Group Tour Championship in November.
Miller, a Buffalo native, has taught in her hometown since 1982 and has been named an Elite LPGA Top 50 Best Teacher for almost three decades. In 2010, she was voted 2010 National LPGA Teacher of the Year and in 2024 was named to the LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame.
Related: Cindy Miller Joins LPGA Professionals Hall of Fame in Class of 2024
Her latest honor recognizes someone who “exemplifies the teaching excellence, passion, and transformative spirit of Ellen Griffin, a Pioneer in Golf Instruction.”
“Receiving the Ellen Griffin Rolex Award is one of the greatest honors of my career,” said Miller in a statement by the LPGA. “I first met Ellen at an LPGA Teaching Division workshop early in my career, and I remember thinking, ‘She genuinely loves people and loves teaching – I can only hope to someday have that kind of impact.’…at the end of the day, what drives me is exactly what drove Ellen: helping people who want to get better, get better.”
In 1978, Miller (formerly Kessler) won the New York State Women’s Amateur Championship at Teugega Country Club in Rome, NY. She was also a two-time AIAW National Champion, an All-American, and team captain after walking on at University of Miami.
The Buffalo native recorded five US Open appearances and played on the LPGA and the Legend’s Tour. In 2005, she finished second in the Legend’s Tour money list.
Miller has led the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Site (girlsgolf.org) since 2001. She also founded a non-profit organization, Pursue Your It, focusing on “educating, inspiring, and challenging young people to discover their potential, passion and purpose.”
The Western New Yorker continues to teach on public driving ranges in the area and offers private lessons, group sessions, playing lessons, golf schools, and boot camps in Florida. Miller works with charities and corporate organizations to expand the game's reach.
“Forty years later, I’ve had the privilege of teaching at public driving ranges, working with everyone from total beginners to PGA TOUR Comeback Players of the Year. Ellen’s spirit has been with me through all of it,” Miller told the LPGA.
For the Millers, golf runs in the family. Cindy’s husband, Allen, played on the PGA Tour for 15 years. Her son Jamie is a four-time NYS Champion, having won two state Mid-Amateur titles (2014 and 2018), as well as a Men’s Four-Ball and Mixed Team title. Jamie also served as the 47th President of the NYS Golf Association from 2024-25.
