Gary Murphy returned to the fray at Walton Heath on Monday, playing the US Open sectional qualifier, and alongside some big names also missed out on a trip to the Olympic Club next month.
Rounds of 73 and 71 left him with an aggregate 144, six shots adrift of the eleventh place that secured automatic passage to San Francisco. It was a return to action following his appearance at The Sicilian Open last month, where he missed the cut - a trend that characterised his 2011 season.
In fifteen starts on the Challenge Tour, Murphy made the cut three times which has seen him drop in ranking to 1,247 place.
In fact it was at the end of the 2009 European Tour Season that Gary Murphy was lats in the mix on the European Tour, battling with Simon Khan, Sam Hutsby and Alejandro Cañizares - all outside the top 115 automatic spots - and struggling to make plans for the 2010 season.
In 124th place in the Race to Dubai Murphy faced the dreaded trip to Qualifying School at the PGA Catalunya in Girona. That year Simon Khan emerged the winner of Final Qualifying and went on to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May 2010.
For Murphy the season’s fortunes went a different way - despite qualifying - earning only €19,152 in prize money which put him back to 227th place. Despite adding to his schedule two Challenge Tour events where missed the cut in both.
With the season over Gary 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. But it didn't happen
He did qualify for the OneAsia Tour which took him back to the region where he first tasted success years ago. However there were not enough starts due to his low ranking and the reality perhaps of life after golf were becoming an added thought.
The 2003 season 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 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.
In 2012 that post playing career started with a Padraig Harrington interview in a new series on Setanta called The Cut Line.
In the series the former European Tour Pro met a number of Irish players including Shane Lowry, Paul McGinley and Des Smyth.
The Cut Line premiered on Setanta Ireland in February.
Fact File
Date of Birth: October 15th, 1972
Place of Birth: Kilkenny, Ireland
Turned Pro 1995 (plus 2)
Qualifying School (1995), (96), (97), (98), 99*, 00, (01), 02*, 09*, 10
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