For Immediate Release: September 30, 2009
Peabody, MA —It's hard to believe that it has been more than two decades since Paul Murphy (Charles River CC) has won an MGA title. However, 21 years after winning the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship, Murphy was victorious once again… this time at the 2009 Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship at Salem Country Club. (Story Continues Below)
Day 2 Quick Links
"When you are a golfer you want to win the State Amateur, you want to win the State Mid-Amateur," said the 58-year-old Murphy. "I never won the State Senior and now I have won this. It is extremely important, and it's the last chance to win anything this year. So it's nice to go into the winter with a win. It makes the winter a little warmer."
Battling a field of the state's best senior amateur golfers, Murphy rose to the top once again as he posted a score of 1-over par 73 on Wednesday to post a two-day score of 2-over par 146 and capture the prestigious title by one stroke.
The Frederick J. Wright Memorial Trophy will fit nicely next to his 2006 New England Senior Amateur Championship trophy, 1975 Ouimet Memorial chair, the three Southeastern Amateur Championship bowls he captured in 1987, 1992 and 1999 and the 13 club championship cups that he has claimed over the years at Charles River Country Club.
"My ball striking had not been good this year and my driver has been poor," said Murphy, who can also claim one Norfolk County Classic title as his own. "My putting and short game have been strong all year long."
Murphy needed that stellar short game this week as he battled a talented field and a tough Donald Ross layout in Peabody. While the rest of the field was struggling to make birdies, Murphy raised the level of his game and simply dominated on the front nine. A bogey on his first hole of the day – the 398-yard, par 4 1st hole – did not deter Murphy as he went on to make five pars and three birdies to make the turn at 2-under par 34.
"I was behind by two against Rick Marcos heading into today and I could see where he stood," said Murphy who was paired with day-one leader Marcos and Chuck Costello (Ferncroft CC). "I got off to a lousy start when I duck hooked my tee shot off one and made bogey. I scraped a few pars together and then I made a nice putt on the par 5 5th hole."
He needed that strong start because as the temperatures dropped and the wind picked up, the birdies did not come so easily. Through his final nine holes, Murphy posted four bogies and just one birdie but it proved just enough to win the title.
"On the back side, I started to give it away a little bit," said Murphy. "I made a careless mistake on 11, missed a five footer for birdie on 12, three putted on 13 and didn't get it up and down on 14."
A key moment in Murphy's round came on the 499-yard, par 5 15th hole when Murphy sent his approach to three feet and drained the putt for birdie. He finished with two pars and one bogey to seal the title by just one stroke.
"I didn't know what the people were doing in front, but I knew that my score was pretty good," said Murphy, who made a solid two putt on 18 for par. "You have to beat the guys in your group before you can beat the rest of the field."
He finished one stroke ahead of Mike Cole (Larry Gannon Municipal GC), who carded an even par 72 today to move into sole possession of second place with a two-day score of 3-over par 147. It seems like just yesterday when Cole advanced to the finals of the 2004 Massachusetts Amateur Championship where he was defeated by Frank Vana, Jr. On this day, Cole took on his senior counterparts for the first time in his career. This year marked the first year that Cole, who turned 55 just 17 days ago, was eligible to compete in senior amateur events.
First-round leader Marcos fell off the pace beginning on the front nine where he carded three bogies, three birdies and one costly double bogey to make the turn at 2-over par and fall two strokes behind the surging Murphy. He was unable to make up ground on the back nine and eventually claimed a piece of third place overall. On Tuesday, Marcos was superb as his score of 1-under par 71 was the only sub-par round posted by any competitor that day.
Super Seniors
Spearheaded by a score of 2-over par 74 on Wednesday, Del Kinney, Jr. (Wyantenuck CC) captured the Super Senior Division title with a two-day score of 10-over par 154. Kinney finished six strokes ahead of the next Super Senior division competitor. This marks the first such title for Kinney, who turned 68 this past May.
Kinney has a deep connection to amateur golf. In addition to serving as a competitor and rules official at MGA and USGA events, Kinney is a former Executive Director of the Connecticut State Golf Association (CSGA). Kinney, who has also served on the USGA Public Links Amateur Championship Committee, captured the 1986 and 1990 CSGA Public Links Championships and was runner-up in the 1988 and 1990 CSGA Mid-Amateur Championships. Prior to his work in golf administration, Kinney was the director of admissions at Western Connecticut State University until his retirement in 1996.
He may not have won any titles today, but James Logue (Salem CC) represented his home club well as he finished with a two-day total of 16-over par 160 and in a tie for second place in the Super Senior Division with Dave Houghton (The Captains GC). Logue, who resides in North Andover, is the oldest competitor in this year's field. He turned 70 years old on March 25.
Off the golf course, Logue has enjoyed rich history of success on a different surface. Logue is a member of the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame as a result of his outstanding play as netminder for the ice hockey team from 1959 through 1961. Logue, a goaltender for the 1968 U.S. Olympic squad who recorded 65 saves against the former Soviet Union in the Olympic Tournament, is presently entering his 16th season as assistant coach for Boston College.
Just the Facts
One of the features of the TPP Scoring Program that is used by the Massachusetts Golf Association for all of its championship events is the course statistics section which provides a detailed analysis of the holes played by the competitors. Here is a brief summary of key statistics from this year's Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship.
Click here for a complete list of course statistics from this year's Massachusetts Senior Amateur Championship.
Salem Country Club – A History... and Future of Excellence
Eight years ago, Salem Country Club opened its doors to the 2001 U.S. Senior Open Championship that was won by Bruce Fleisher. The success of that event was unquestioned as it – according to a recent GolfDigest article – reaped more than $1 million for Salem Country Club and provided a $30 million economic boost to the North Shore and surrounding communities. It was marked a special moment in golf history as Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus made their final Massachusetts competitive appearances together.
Prior to the 2001 U.S. Senior Open Championship, Salem Country Club played host to the 1932 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, 1954 U.S. Women's Open Championship, 1977 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and the 1984 U.S. Women's Open Championship.
If the membership here at Salem Country Club has its way, the club will open its doors to the 2016 U.S. Senior Open Championship. Earlier this month, the membership approved an initiative that would allow the club to formally submit an invitation to the United States Golf Association to conduct a sixth USGA Championship. According to GolfDigest and MassGolfer magazine contributor Gary Larrabee, acceptance of the invitation within the next 90 days is all but assured by the USGA's executive committee. The dates for the 2016 Senior Open are July 28-31. Salem would become only the second club to host two Senior Opens, along with Saucon Valley in Bethlehem, Pa., site of this year's U.S. Women's Open Championship.
