Murphy Holds Off Defending Champion Johnson to Win MPGA Senior Public Links

By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  MAPLEWOOD, Minn. – Greg Murphy won five Minnesota Public Golf Association Four-Ball championships in the 1990s and added two more in 2002-03.

In 1991 he claimed the Minnesota Golf Association Players’ Championship title, but after surviving a playoff Sunday at Goodrich Golf Club, Murphy can call himself a champion once again as he defeated defending champion J.T. Johnson to claim the 2015 MPGA Senior Public Links Championship.

Murphy carded a 2-under par 68 during the opening round Saturday and answered with a 2-over par 72 Sunday, fending off Johnson after a two-hole playoff to claim the title.

“It’s been a lot time. I felt like I’ve been swinging good, but to have this happen is pretty special,” Murphy said after his win Sunday. “I’m 57—it reinforces that maybe I can play a little bit and doing it in front of [wife Cathy] and some other friends was really special.”

Starting his final round on the back nine Sunday, Murphy slipped to 1-under for the championship with a bogey at the 11th hole.

He rolled in five consecutive pars before another bogey at the par-3 17th hole and would make the turn at 2-over for the round.

Murphy made two early bogeys on his back nine at the first and third holes to drop to 2-over for the tournament, but got back on track with a birdie at the short par-5 fourth hole.

A slippery, downhill birdie at the par-4 seventh hole clearly changed momentum for Murphy as he again pulled even with Johnson after Johnson rolled in four birdies over five holes to surge into the lead before making bogey at No. 7.

Johnson two-putted for par on the final hole while Murphy drained his 12 foot par putt as the two would finish tied for the lead at 140.

Both Johnson and Murphy made par on the first playoff hole, but Johnson struggled to reach the green on the second hole. Murphy two-putted for par while Johnson failed to keep the playoff going, missing his 15-foot par putt and he would embrace his good friend after Murphy clinched the tournament.

“I hit the ball pretty solid yesterday and hit a lot of really good iron shots close to the hole. It was kind of a hot and cold weekend with my putter, the putt I had [on No. 9 to force a playoff] was probably the longest putt I made all weekend,” Murphy said.

“I just wanted to play well and hang in there. I felt like the underdog playing with the defending champion, especially the way he hits it. Trying to keep up with [Johnson] is not an option. I tried to stay as patient as I could but it seemed like the bounces I was getting today weren’t nearly as good as the ones I was getting yesterday.”

Married to his wife Cathy for 34 years, Murphy said he’s now 2-for-2 when she’s on the bag as the two teamed up for a victory in 1985 at the New Richland Invitational. Cathy hadn’t caddied for her husband until this weekend.

“She has a calming influence on me and it’s nice to have her out there.”

Murphy, Keller Golf Club, has claimed the MPGA Four-Ball title seven times (1991-92, 1994-95, 1999, 2002-03) and defeated John Harris at the 1991 MGA Players’ Championship at Edina Country Club.

Johnson, Valleywood Golf Course, began the final round one shot off the lead and opened with a birdie at No. 10 before drawing even for the day with a bogey at the 13th.

With three consecutive bogeys to finish his front nine, Johnson quickly slipped to 2-over for the championship and two shots behind Murphy.

After a bogey to open his back nine, Johnson quickly got his round going in the right direction as he would make four birdies over a five-hole stretch, including two chip-ins and would take a two-stroke lead with three holes to play.

Johnson failed to get up-and-down for par at the seventh hole and after Murphy’s birdie fell, the two became deadlocked at even par, heading to a playoff after the two made par on the eighth and ninth holes.

“Yesterday was hard work—I think I hit nine greens,” Johnson said of the opening round Saturday. “I made a lot of par putts, but it was just a grind, I could’ve easily shot 75.”

With one title already to his credit after winning last year’s championship at Pokegama Golf Course, Johnson said he was eager to play the final round with his close friend.

“I was looking forward to playing with Greg because he was the one that introduced me to tournament golf about 20 years ago. We’ve played a couple hundred rounds together. The mindset was to stay as close to him as possible,” Johnson said.

“I figured something would happen where things would go my way but he kept making pars and then I made four bogeys in a row,” he said. “But it was a lot of fun. I drove the ball well but these greens are so small, they make you be so exact. If you fire at the flag and miss, you put bogey into play immediately.”

Steve Whittaker, Pebble Creek Golf Club, carded a 4-over par during the opening round Saturday and came back with an even par 70 during the final round Sunday to finish third at 144, while Bob Neuberger, Rush Creek Golf Club, and Tom Nordstrom, Eagle Valley Golf Club, finished tied for fourth at 145.


For complete tournament results go to: