Murphy seeks invitations to stay on in Europe

Waterville’s Mark Murphy is desperate to turn an encouraging performance at the Irish Open into more tournament invitations and a shot at a European Tour card.

With his victory in the US Golf Channel’s Big Break Ireland reality TV competition not producing the American invites he imagined would start flowing, 34-year-old Murphy is ready to move home from his current base in New Orleans.

Having made the cut at Royal Portrush this weekend he wants the chance to pit his game against Europe’s best golfers on a regular basis.

“I have been living in America and used to date a girl over there but that’s all over so I’ve nothing to really go back for any more,” Murphy said following a closing two-over-par 74 yesterday that left him at one over for the tournament.

“That was really something that held me over there as much as anything so if I got any sort of a status over here in Europe I’m ready to come home. I really feel like I can compete out here and that’s the beauty of it. If I could just get a couple of invites somewhere to keep me here and keep me playing then great.”

Playing the Irish Open has proven an eventful week for Murphy, who opened with a three-under round of 68 over the Dunluce links and eagled the last hole of his second round, the par-five ninth, to get into the weekend right on the cut line.

While the experience whetted Murphy’s appetite, it also brought into sharp focus the need to be competing from week to week on the European Tour.

“The only downfall to having a week like this is I’m struggling to play every week. You experience the European Tour, you enjoy it and play decent — not the way I wanted, of course — but hopefully I’ll be able to get some invites and then I’ll be able to get on the Tour full-time.

“That 69 in the first round was definitely as bad as I could have shot. I was playing with Mark Foster and he was rolling them all in and they’re here all the time and I’m not. You have to be here week in, week out.

“So I’ll keep hammering away. I won’t be giving up any time soon.”

As it happens, Murphy, whose caddie at Portrush was Cork professional Peter O’Keeffe, will be quickly back in action, playing local final qualifying for the British Open at Southport and Ainsdale tomorrow.

“Hopefully I can get through that and get a berth at the Open. That would be cool. My game is good, I’m hitting it nicely and I just need to make some more putts when I need to.

“I’ve got nothing to hang my head about. I played great and to make that eagle on the 36th hole to make the cut on the number was huge because I knew I needed to do it. So hopefully I’ll be playing in the Open in a couple of weeks.”