Murphy rues Aussie trip as tour card lost

GARY MURPHY has been left to count the cost of a 30,000km round trip to Australia after failing to retain his Tour card for the 2010 Race to Dubai season.

Despite a gallant four-round effort, Murphy’s 37th-place finish in the Australian Masters, won by Tiger Woods, left him four places, and €25,943, shy of finishing among the 120 players who retain automatic Tour membership.

Murphy, who carded a final round 74 for a two-over par tally on the Kingston Heath course, is resigned to heading back to the Tour’s Q-School later this month for the first time in seven years. He said: “People might say it was a long way to come in the hope of keeping my card but I have had a fantastic week apart from doing what I set out to do. The weather and the Tiger Woods factor were fantastic this week. I have never seen crowds like this anywhere around the world except for the Open Championship.”