OneAsia Tour Gets Indonesian Starter

Gary Murphy

OneAsia, the fastest-growing golf circuit in the world, will launch its lucrative 13-stop schedule for 2011 with this week's star-laden Indonesia PGA Championship, worth US$180,000 to the winner.

Formed in 2009 with just five events, OneAsia doubled in size to 10 tournaments last year and will stage at least three more in 2011, each with minimum prize money of US$1 million.

China’s Liang Wenchong, who has won a record three events on OneAsia and topped the 2010 Order of Merit with US$560,736 in earnings, will start as favourite at Imperial Klub Golf from March 24-27.

Liang heads one of the strongest fields assembled for a standalone OneAsia event outside of Australia with 2009 Order of Merit champion Scott Strange and a quartet of winners from last year leading the challengers.

Australia’s Strange, a two-time winner on the European Tour including the OneAsia joint-sanctioned Volvo China Open in 2009, is joined by countryman Kim Felton, New Zealander Michael Hendry and the highly rated Korean duo of Bae Sang-moon and Kim Dae-hyun, who all tasted victory on OneAsia last season.

The big-hitting Kim, who emerged victorious at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last year and was runner-up to Liang in the Order of Merit, has high hopes of making a winning start to the season.

"I am quite confident to win this competition," said Kim. "I have put in a lot of effort since December and hopefully I can play more consistently and skillfully this year.”

Eight out of the top 10 players from last year’s Order of Merit will compete for the title with Australians Matthew Griffin (7), Andre Stolz (8) and Michael Wright (10) joining Liang, Kim, Hendry, Bae and Felton who finished first, second, third, fourth and sixth respectively.

Amongst the other notables in the line-up are Major champion Wayne Grady of Australia, winner of the 1990 US PGA Championship, and teen prodigy Han Chang-won of Korea, the 2009 Asian Amateur champion who will make his eagerly awaited professional tournament debut.

Imperial Klub Golf, the tournament venue, is one of Jakarta’s premier golf courses and boasts a championship course designed by British architect Desmond Muirhead.

The Indonesia PGA Championship will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 400 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Gary Murphy of Ireland qualified for the 2011 OneAsia Tour in January, after losing out on his European Tour card last season, and returns to Asia where he was successful before making it through the European Qualifying School in 1999.

Murphy Makes Return to Asia

At the end of the 2009 European Tour Season 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 the 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 Murphy the season’s fortunes went a different way with only €19,152 in prize money he fell back to 227th place and despite adding to his schedule two Challenge Tour events - Roma Golf Open 2010 Presented by REZZA and the Egyptian Open presented by SODIC – Murphy missed the cut in both. 

With the season over Gary Murphy headed back to European Tour Qualifying School – eleven years after he first passed the test in 1999 – seeking a quick return for the 2011 season after a season of too many missed cuts. The Kilkenny man only made the final rounds six times showing a lack of consistency from almost the outset of the year. 

Q School last November suffered a setback when a final round 76 at Ell Valle Golf Resort saw him slip back to 39th on 6 over par ending his campaign one stage earlier than 2009 – when he took one of the thirty spots alongside Simon Thornton. 

2003 was his best ever order of merit finish 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. 

Having taken 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 in 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. 

For 2011 Gary Murphy has qualified for the OneAsia Tour taking him back to the region where he first tasted success some years ago. 

OneAsia is about maximising elite playing opportunities for the best golfers across the Asia-Pacific and provides a structure for players to gain access to a series of the most significant events in Asia. The current founding parties that support OneAsia are CGA, KPGA, Korea GA, PGA of Australia and ASEAN PGA. 

Fact File 

Date of Birth: October 15th, 1972 

Attachment: 

Place of Birth: Kilkenny, Ireland 

Turned Pro 1995 (plus 2) 

Qualifying School (1995), (96), (97), (98), 99*, 00, (01), 02*, 09*, 10 

Murphy goes in search of saving card

RTE Sport: Murphy goes in search of saving card

Gary Murphy - Profile

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

Category	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