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John Murphy shows huge potential with top-10 finish at St Andrews

Kinsale's John Murphy acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at The Old Course at St Andrews. Photo: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images Expand

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Kinsale's John Murphy acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at The Old Course at St Andrews. Photo: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Kinsale's John Murphy acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at The Old Course at St Andrews. Photo: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Kinsale's John Murphy acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day four of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at The Old Course at St Andrews. Photo: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Brian Keogh

Kinsale’s John Murphy got his European Tour career off to a flyer with a brilliant top-10 finish in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews.

The Cork rookie (23) was “gutted” not to contend after going out in the final group just three shots behind eventual winner Danny Willett in just his third European Tour start.

Three birdies in a row from the third saw the Walker Cup star close to within two shots of Willett before a double-bogey at the 352-yard ninth shattered his hopes of a dream win.

Forced to battle from there, he missed a short par putt at the 16th, but got up and down brilliantly from the road for par at the 17th, then made a seven-footer for a 71 and tie for ninth on 15-under.

As Shane Lowry shot 68 to finish tied fourth, just three shots behind Willett on 15-under, Murphy banked €81,543 to move up to 197th in the Race to Dubai and his top-10 finish earns his another chance to edge closer to his card with a top-three finish in this week’s Spanish Open.

“Certainly the competitive player in me is gutted right now,” Murphy said, lamenting the fact that he couldn’t build on his fast start. “But looking back at it, it’s been a great week. It’s been certainly an experience I won’t be forgetting in a hurry.”

Willett celebrated his 34th birthday by closing with a 68 to win his eighth European Tour title by two strokes from Tyrrell Hatton and Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren on 18-under par.

But the 2016 Masters champion believes the Cork man can take advantage of another chance at Madrid’s Club de Campo this week if he cuts out the “silly mistakes” that cost him yesterday.

Murphy ran up a double-bogey six to Willett’s birdie at the 352-yard ninth when he hooked his tee shot into a bush and after taking a penalty drop, hit a daring third but three-putted from 25 yards for a costly double-bogey six, then missed a short par putt at the 16th.

“John played good but nine killed him,” Willett said. “But this is what you want to do when you’re first starting out. These top 10s are massive, not only for the money but for the opportunity to play the week after when you’re clearly playing some good golf.”

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Murphy admitted Willett’s birdie at the ninth made his double feel like a triple.

“I was kind of out of it after that,” he said. “I would have loved to have been in contention coming down that stretch because that’s why I practice, why I play golf, to put myself in those situations. But I’m pretty happy with how I got the most out of the last few holes. Got up-and-down on 17 and 18 to come top 10, so that was a positive take.”

Lowry could not make the putts on the back nine and shot 68 to finish tied fourth with Richard Bland, three behind Willett.

“I feel like I left it all out there today,” said Lowry, who will spend this week “on the couch” before reappearing for back to back events in Las Vegas. “A top five coming off of last week is my best finish for a while.

“You need to finish with a better score around here to get the job done. It is what it is. I’m a bit disappointed, but I’m really happy with how I played and how I handled myself after last week.”

There were still two Irish winners in the end as Michael Hoey (42) helped Maeve Danaher become the first woman to win the team competition thanks to a closing 60, edging out Shane Warne and New Zealander Ryan Fox on 36-under par after a countback.

The 22 handicapper, a left-hander who putts right-handed and plays out of Adare Manor, earned bragging rights over her husband, Gerry McManus, who finished fifth in partnership with Lowry on 32-under.

Needing one big finish from his last three events to graduate from the Challenge Tour where weekly costs are €1,300, Hoey won €85,469 – €43,120 for the Pro-Am team and €42,349 for finishing tied 24th in the tournament on eight under. Thrilled to make a clutch four-footer on the last to win, Hoey joked: “Obviously, money is not important, but it’s up there with oxygen.”

Meanwhile, The Island’s Gavin Moynihan made it back to back top 20s on the Challenge Tour when he closed with a five-under 67 to finish 19th on 16-under in the Swiss Challenge, nine shots behind Dane Marcus Helligkilde.

In New Jersey, Leona Maguire made five birdie and five bogeys in a roller coaster 71 to finish tied 34th on five under in the LPGA Shoprite Classic, nine shots behind Solheim Cup team-mate Celine Boutier.

In amateur golf, Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe retained the Munster Strokeplay Championship closing with rounds of 66 and 73 to win by three from Castle’s Robert Moran at Cork Golf Club.

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