Gary Murphy is looking forward to a busy period after playing his way into the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship which is due to take place at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen at the end of July, and it’s provided a confidence boost ahead of the OFX Irish Legends at Carton House next week.
The K Club Head Professional was one of just two Irishmen to make the trip to Royal Ascot Golf Club where he joined 88 other hopefuls battling it out for five places in the oldest and most prestigious event on the Legends Tour – formerly European Seniors Tour – circuit.
A four-under 66 saw the Kilkenny native finish tied for second, one shot shy of playing partner and leading qualifier Sam Little, and he’s excited to be returning to a venue that he loves.
“Trump Aberdeen is one of my favorite places to play golf,” he said. “It’s a spectacular spot and a really good event and I had a sniff of it there a couple of years ago. I was doing really well after two rounds, and I know if I play the game I can play, I can go well again.”
Murphy did most of his damage on his final nine holes having started on the 10th, birdieing three of his final six holes to come home in a blemish-free 32, and he said that his aggressive mindset paid off over the closing stretch.
“I’ve always been one to try and push on,” he laughed. “There’s never been any fear of me not going for something and that’s probably been my nemesis over the years, but I said to Darren, my caddie, ‘it’s time to push’ and I played the closing stretch really well. I made a couple of nice up-and-downs for birdie on the drivable par-4 [4th] and the par-5 [5th], had a couple more birdie looks on the next, then hit it stone dead to a tight pin on the par-3 eighth so that left me on four-under which I knew was going to be good enough.
“I came up short on the last after playing for a flyer, but had about a 20-yard pitch and knocked it stone dead as well, so it was a nice way to finish.”
The Staysure PGA Seniors will be the third competitive event he plays in July, starting with the OFX Irish Legends next weekend, and he hopes that he can make it four as he’d due to compete in Final Qualifying for the Senior Open Championship which takes place the week prior to the PGA Seniors.
And he’ll arrive to take on the ‘Monty’ with his confidence boosted after his play at Royal Ascot, having worked hard on his game over the last couple of months.
“Oh, totally,” he replied when asked if he’s excited to be playing on home soil again. “And listen, no one’s immune to a lack of confidence in this game. It can beat you up so much, so to get that shot in the arm [at Royal Ascot] and to see myself doing really good things on the course was really nice.
“And look, I’ve a fairly decent record when playing at home, and I get to sleep in my own bed as well which is great.
“So I’ve got the Irish Legends, the Senior Open Qualifying – and hopefully I can get through that and play the Senior Open as well – then the PGA Seniors and the K Club Pro-Am all coming over the next five or six weeks, so getting that bit of continuity is always good, especially when you feel you’re starting to play a bit better.”
He’s also a big fan of the Montgomerie Course at Carton House and no stranger to it having played in two Irish Opens at the venue back in the noughties and making several social trips to the venue.
“I’m fortunate because I love links golf and I work at The K Club where we’ve got the North Course, which I think is the best parkland course in Ireland, and the South Course which is as close as we get to the ‘Monty’, so I’ve got the best of all worlds really,” he said.
“And I’ve got a few friends that play in Carton, so I’ve played there a lot. I remember playing with a pal of mine and I shot eight-under and didn’t even take the money because he got me on the double or quits on the last. I’m sure he’ll be reminding me of that on the week. But if I can produce something like that round, I’ll definitely take a few quid there this year.”
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