Miller, president of Pine Needles and Mid Pines Resorts, had advanced to the second round with a 19-hole upset of Drew Stultz on Wednesday in the championship's opening round of match play.
"Robert played very well," Miller said of his defeat. "I would have had to have played phenomenal golf to beat him."
Miller did take an early lead, wining the second hole with a par, but then fell victim to a balky putter, and steadily fell behind to lose 6 and 5.
"I had a 5-foot putt for birdie on the fourth hole and Robert had one from about 10 feet," Miller said. "He made and I missed, and then I missed short putts on the fifth and sixth holes. I just couldn't get the putts to go."
Despite the loss, Miller, who was seeded 57th, was satisfied with his showing.
"I played pretty decent," he said. "I probably would have been right about even par. But I've been struggling with my putter for a few years now. I feel good about the week and qualifying for the match play.
"I was a little surprised that I beat Drew (seeded eighth) on Wednesday, and I'm sure he was surprised, too.
"It was kind of neat seeing all these college kids playing. They're the future of golf."
Twenty-one of the top-100 collegiate golfers were entered the tournament. Webb Simpson, the top-ranked men's amateur in the world and a rising sophomore at Wake Forest University, defeated two-time champion Paul Simson of Raleigh 3 and 1 in Thursday's second round.
Robert Riesen of Pinehurst was beaten on Tuesday by John Kelly of St. Louis in 21 holes. Riesen was an All-ACC selection in his freshman season at the University of North Carolina.
Qualifying medalist Phillip Mollica of Anderson, S.C., lost to Brian Carroll of Crystal Lake, Ill., 2 and 1.
Defending champion Sean Moore defeated Andrew Tampion of Australia 2 and 1 in the second round, and was scheduled to face Robert Gates in a third-round match Thursday afternoon.
Moore, like Simpson, also plays for Wake Forest University.
Because of deadline, the results of Thursday afternoon's third-round matches were not available. The results can be found on Web site thepilot.com.
The championship continues with quarterfinals today, semifinals on Saturday and the 36-hole finals on Sunday.
North and South Results
Thursday Morning
Upper Bracket
Sean Moore, Marshville, def. Andrew Tampion, Melbourne, Australia, 2 and 1.
Robert Gates, College Station, Tex., def. Michael Baird, Castle Rock, Colo., 3 and 1.
Robert Abbate, Weston, Fla., def. Kelly Miller, Southern Pines, 6 and 5.
Drew Laning, Little Rock, Ark., def. Steven Tiley, Atlanta, Ga., 1-up.
Tyler Brown, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., def. Matt Mincer, Lenoir City, Tenn., 1-up.
Ashley Hall, Melbourne, Australia, def. Henry Zaytaun, Raleigh, 1-up.
Jonathon Hodge, Jefferson City, Tenn., def. Seung-Su Han, Henderson, Nev., 20 holes.
Jerad Harklau, Heath, Tex., def. Rouan Blizard, Sydney, Australia, 2 and 1.
Thursday Afternoon Pairings
Moore vs. Gates
Abbate vs. Laning
Brown vs. Hall
Hodge vs. Harklau
Thursday Morning
Lower Bracket
Brian Carroll, Crystal Lake, Ill., def. Phillip Mollica, Anderson, S.C., 2 and 1.
Webb Simpson, Raleigh, def. Paul Simson, Raleigh, 3 and 1.
Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill., def. Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala., 1-up.
George Bryan, Chapin, S.C., def. Matthew Galloway, Valrico, Fla., 2 and 1.
Brady Schnell, Bettendorf, Iowa, def. Matt Savage, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1-up.
David Holzworth, Chapel Hill, def. John Kelly St. Louis, Mo., 19 holes.
Dusty Smith, The Woodlands, Tex., def. Judd Corwell, Omaha, Neb., 2 and 1.
Matt Harmon, Grand Rapids, Mich., def. Ryan Holler, Morehead City, 6 and 5.
Thursday Afternoon Pairings
Carroll vs. Simpson
Mitchell vs. Bryan
Schnell vs. Holzworth
Smith vs. Harmon
