Saturday, January 18th marked seven years to the day that Oscar Murphy went viral after hitting one golf shot at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
At the time, the Omagh native was just 13-years-old and with the pressure of a gallery of golf fans watching, television cameras and with Major winners, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, as well as European Ryder Cup star, Tommy Fleetwood, standing next to him, he struck a perfect three-wood inside the efforts of two of his more illustrious counterparts.
At the time, Oscar and his family were living in Abu Dhabi, where he won a tournament, and part of his prize was the chance to ‘Beat the Pro’ and tee off alongside his golfing hero McIlroy, then world number one Johnson and 2017 Race to Dubai champion Fleetwood.
And he seized his opportunity in some style, playing a delightful fade on the 177-yard par three 15th hole to 20 feet, inside Johnson and Fleetwood’s efforts.
Looking back on the experience now, one he remembers fondly, Murphy admits that where he played the shot from wasn’t in the plans and he was totally unprepared for having to unleash his three wood alongside three of the best players in the world.
“I went to the driving range and I was warming up beside all the players, which was quite surreal and we were worrying about what tees we’d be off. We were told we’d be off the forward tee so I was hitting my six iron, which was my 130 yard club,” he explained.
“I was hitting that lovely, so I thought, ‘I’ll be fine’ and then we got out to the tee box and discovered we’d be off the back tees, which is about 183 yards, so I had to hit a three wood. I don’t think I hit one three wood on the range, so I had to hit that completely cold and when I was standing over the ball I just wanted to make contact!”
To add yet more pressure onto his shoulders, Murphy had to then stand and watch McIlroy, Johnston and Fleetwood all hit their shots before he had his opportunity in the spotlight, but he was thrilled with the end result and the feedback he received from his heroes.
“I’m standing there with Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnston and Tommy Fleetwood with a club I haven’t even swung,” he laughed.
“They hit first and Rory hit a good shot but the other two both drew the ball which meant it was hard for them to get at the pin. So, I hit a wee fade into the right pin, which they all loved.
“They said they couldn’t hit a fade like that, and I was like, ‘well I couldn’t hit a nine iron 170 yards!’ That’s what they were hitting, a nine iron and I was there with a three wood! It was crazy – surreal to be fair.
“My immediate reaction was relief and I went a wee bit blank in the moment – looking back I can’t even remember taking the club back, I just remember looking up and seeing that it was pretty good.
“Rory was very good with me, he had a good chat with me and so did Tommy and DJ and his caddy, so it was good.”
Another positive for Oscar was that because he had a one shot deal, he didn’t have to putt out in front of the massive crowd and the three professionals, something he was mightily relieved about.
“I didn’t get to putt out, which I’m thankful of because the greens were rapid! I was a member there but it’s tough on tournament week,” he acknowledged.
And while the initial experience was all positive, the aftermath proved somewhat more difficult to deal with. Having hit headlines across the world, some of which posed the question ‘Is this the best 13-year-old golfer in the world?’ Oscar, who is now 20 years old, admits the adulation following his shot, moving back home to Omagh from Abu Dhabi and the Covid-19 Lockdown all played a part in him taking his eye off the ball somewhat when it came to his golf game.
“I probably got a bit comfortable after that, I definitely took the foot off the pedal a wee bit,” acknowledged the former Omagh Academy pupil who was back on the move again at the age of 16 as he aimed to kick-start his playing career once more.
“I hit that shot when I was 13 and I played the World Championships the summer after that in Pinehurst and I didn’t go with enough preparation because I thought I’d hit this shot, I’ll be fine.
“But from 14-16 and with Lockdown in the middle of that, moving back from Abu Dhabi too, it was tough to be fair.
“Golf took a bit of a back seat with settling in back home, being a bit more normal but once I got to 16 I thought I had a bit of golf left in me so I decided to do the BTEC in England and I moved away to the Golf College in September 2021 and that was probably the best decision I ever made.”
Having decided to up sticks and leave home after his GCSE’s was a big step for Oscar, but it was a move that paid off as he earned a golf scholarship in America.
However, rather than being in a rush to cross the Atlantic, Oscar took a more pragmatic approach to his final decision about moving to Texas and with golf being a game that needs consistency and continuity, he decided it was better for him to stick rather than twist and that decision has certainly paid off in playing terms thus far.
“I got into the University of Texas Permian Basin, which is a high division two school and I had some division one offers, but they were in colder areas like New York and Virginia, so I felt the Texas one was the best fit because they had just put $2 million into a new sports facility and it looked unreal,” he explained.
“So I got accepted and signed all the paper work but four or five weeks before I decided not to go. I found it too much and after doing the BTEC at the Golf College, I knew they did a university course and I knew everyone was going to that, all my lecturers, my golf coach, they would all be the same.
“It made more sense to do that. I think it was a brave decision not going to America and a year and a half later I don’t think I’ve regretted it once which I’m happy about because when I made the decision I thought I’d regret it a lot.
“I don’t though, because my golf has come on so much. I went to the BTEC with about a five handicap and I’m now +3.”
Having decided to stay with the Golf College, Oscar is currently playing regularly, while studying for a degree in international business and golf management.
While that is his main priority at present, he is also determined to earn a World Amateur Golf Ranking this year before competing in the tough Irish Amateur Tour during the late spring and summer.
“The aim for now is to go out to Spain in January [with the Golf College] and there’s three World Amateur Ranking events so that’s the next aim, to get one of those under my belt,” he explained.
”It’s actually annoying because when I was doing the BTEC, the Golf College hosted a matchplay event two years in a row out in Portugal and I actually won it two years in a row, but they didn’t make it a WAGR until the year after!
“But they have the same matchplay event now and it is a WAGR event so it’s a good opportunity because getting a World Ranking could hopefully open the door for a lot of other stuff.
“So, I’ll try to get one of them, play a full season around Ireland and maybe a few abroad. I might be out in Dubai in March for a couple of amateur events and then the full rota back home.”
And when he returns to these shores ahead of the Irish Amateur season, he knows he will face a huge challenge as, not only will be be up against a ‘ridiculously high’ standard of opposition, but he will need to adapt his game from the style of play that’s suitable in Spain and the Middle East where conditions tend to be more benign.
“The standard [in Ireland] is ridiculously high,” he exclaimed. “Last year was my first full season on the men’s tour and what I noticed and what I found interesting, especially in Ireland, is that people don’t have the most aesthetically pleasing swings.
“You look at them and think ‘that doesn’t look great’ but they get it done and the conditions, most of the events are at links courses, so it’s about who can hit the ball lowest, who can hit it straightest and who has the best short game.
“Me, I’ve adapted. I can keep the ball low, but college golfers in America and abroad, I’d be more a fair weather golfer in that I like to hit a high drive, like in the PGA Tour – long drive, wedge, putt – but in links championships you have to plot your way around.
“It’s hard to adapt and the standard even in amateur golf is mental. When you play the South, the East, the North of Ireland [Amateur Championships] there will be someone shoots five-under-par on one or two days at least, so you just have to try and do your best, play one shot at a time and even though it’s hard in the moment, you have to remember they are three-four day events. It’s more a mental game at this stage. Everyone can hit a ball, but it comes down to who can handle themselves.”
And that mental strength, which is required to succeed in golf, is something Oscar has developed over the last six years and he believes not only has he, but so too has his game matured, which should give him the chance to achieve his goal of joining the Asian PGA Tour in the next few years.
“My plans for the future. I’m plus three now, but I’d like to get to plus five, plus six in the next year,” he added.
“My game has matured a lot. I could always play golf, I was always a decent golfer. But I’m a high maintenance player, with a lot of check-ups, but the last year I’ve had the same swing thoughts since July and it’s been working nicely.
“I’ve been playing at College over in England and we have a wee Order of Merit thing. We play an event every week basically and I shot five-under and seven-under for 12-under to win one of the two-dayers by six shots, which was nice.
“I knew I could always make birdies, but I’d make a few bogeys and while I thought I’d played really well I’d only have been about one or two under-par. So, it was good, for once, to keep the foot on the pedal and it gives me confidence, especially the seven-under, which was bogey free.
“It felt easy, which was good, so I have this year and next year to finish at College. I’ll graduate when I’m 21 and I’ll try to get the word ranking, get some sponsorship, which is something I’ll work on in the next year because that’s a big one.
“I’ll probably go out and base myself in Dubai, particularly for the winter months and Thailand for the Asian Tour. Qualifying is easier to get to from there, so that’s the plan at the minute anyway. To try and get an Asian Tour card in the next few years.”
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)