Gary Murphy this time last year was in the mix with Simon Khan, Sam Hutsby and Alejandro Cañizares - all outside the top 115 spots - and struggling to make plans for the 2010 season. Not unlike Murphy - who was in 124th place in the Race to Dubai and €234,844 to the good – they all faced a trip to Qualifying School last December in Girona.
Simon Khan emerged the winner of Final Qualifying, going on to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May, with all three others also qualifying and returning to the European Tour for the 2010 season. For Hutsby the year could prove as success if he can hang on to his current 115th place and for Cañizares the season has already been a success reaching 31st place in the Race to Dubai.
In contrast Murphy’s fortunes have gone a different way with only €19,152 in prize money after 26 events to fall to 236th place and despite adding to his schedule two Challenge Tour events recently - Roma Golf Open 2010 Presented by REZZA and the Egyptian Open presented by SODIC – his form has not improved with Murphy missing the cut in both.
With the season all but over Gary Murphy appears on his way back to European Tour Qualifying School – eleven years after he first passed the test in 1999 – seeking a quick return for next year with only the Barclays Singapore Open next week left to play – where he has received an invite. Although it does not bode well as in last year’s event Murphy finished 71 and missed the cut.
The problem this season has been clearly too many missed cuts and only making the final rounds of tournaments six times showing a lack of consistency from almost the outset of the year.
His best ever order of merit finish was in 2003 when Murphy secured 59th place which included a fourth place at the Barclay's Scottish Open. During that season the Kilkenny man missed no cuts at all.
Murphy took up the game at the age of 11, after acting as a caddy for his father Jim, and played golf along with soccer – at which he had trials for Ireland’s Under-13 and Under-15 teams. In the end he concentrated on golf as of 1988, at the age of 16, and reduced his handicap within the year to scratch. In 1992, three years later, he won the Irish Amateur Closed Championship and turned professional in 1995.
Two years later he won the Asian Tour School in the Philippines playing the region for two winters, keeping his card each time. At the fifth attempt he won his card at European Tour Qualifying School graduating to the Tour in 2000. However he was back on the Challenge Tour for two seasons before winning the sixth card at the 2002 Qualifying School and remained ever present until he fell short last season.
In 2008 Murphy recorded a share of third place in the Irish Open at Adare Manor with Lee Westwood, Martin Lafeber and Robert Karlsson - one place ahead of Rory McIlroy. But a season later he returned to Q School finishing in seventeenth place to earn playing right for 2010 – along with the only other Irish graduate, Simon Thornton.
Fact File
Date of Birth: October 15th, 1972
Attachment: Oceanico Developments
Place of Birth: Kilkenny, Ireland
Turned Pro 1995 (plus 2)
Qualifying School (1995), (96), (97), (98), 99*, 00, (01), 02*, 09*
European Tour Statistics
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | |
Stroke Average | 72 | 71.86 | 73.73 |
Driving Accuracy (%) | 66.84 | 64.09 | 64.09 |
Driving Distance (yards) | 277.98 | 279.57 | 280.6 |
Greens In Regulation (%) | 71.75 | 70.43 | 58.28 |
Average Putts Per Round | 30.98 | 30.56 | 29.55 |
Putts Per GIR | 1.83 | 1.81 | 1.81 |
Sand Saves (% / Total save attempts) | 48.45 / 97 | 50.77 / 130 | 38.55 / 83 |
