<p> Gary Hurley. Picture: Federico Capretti/ Alps Tour Golf.</p>
West Waterford’s Gary Hurley and Kinsale’s John Murphy came through the gruelling 108-hole Qualifying School Final Stage and made their dreams come true by grabbing DP World Tour cards in Spain.
Hurley (29) was on the verge of quitting the game a few years ago but less than 12 months after finding himself with no status on any tour, even the third-tier tours, he closed with a two-under 69 on the Lakes Course at Infinitum in Tarragona to finish two strokes inside the top 25 and ties in joint 13th on 19-under par.
Murphy (24) produced an incredible final round performance and having started the day four shots outside the top 25, he found himself six strokes outside the mark with 12 holes to go and played them in six-under, carding a bogey-free six-under 65 to grab his card on the 17-under par limit.
“I’m just, I'm proud, I'm excited,” said Hurley, who combined the mental game improvements he’s made with Dr Edward Coughlan with work with coach Neil Manchip and tips from clubmate Séamus Power on how to practice his short irons to make the jump from the doldrums to the world’s second-biggest tour.
“I'm going to take some time off now and just decompress after a really long year, not just this week, just the whole year, to be honest. Like two years ago, even this time last year, I had nothing. I had no sponsors, I had nothing and I managed to convince some guys to help me out over the winter, convince them that this was going somewhere that the work I was putting in is going to it's going to mean something.
“And I'm so so thankful for them for that even when I was telling them. I now just have a lot of evidence this year with my results. And now this just I mean, it's brilliant. I'm delighted. I am absolutely delighted.”
<img alt="" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52780078e4b0782c048f31cb/4a41d7be-5c91-4356-a7ad-4c783fb29ffa/Challenge+Tour+Grand+Final_John+Murphy_05.jpg?format=1000w" />
<p>John Murphy in action during the Rolex Callenge Tour Grand Final at Alcanada Golf Club in Mallorca. Picture: Niall O'Shea</p>
Murphy was ranked 92nd in the Challenge Tour rankings in July but after finishing third in the Irish Challenge, he made the top 45 to secure a strong Challenge Tour card for 2023 and went out and grabbed his card by making 26 birdies over the six rounds in Tarragona.
“You know, I trained for moments like this,” said the Cork man, who was grateful to mental coach Fergus Wallace and even more pleased for his swing coach Ian Stafford, who has been dealing with personal issues at home.
Having started on the back nine, he was level par for the final round with 12 holes to go and six shots outside the mark but birdied the par-five 16th and 18th, then roared home on four-under 31 by following birdies at the second, third and fifth with a clutch nine footer for the key birdie at the 17th before completing the job with a nerve-wracking 50 foot two-putt across a tier at the last.
“Patience was everything for me,’ Murphy said, pointing to his last 12 holes. “I really felt like I was mentally and physically prepared for the moment and I am just delighted to see it come to fruition.”
As for his coach, he said: “He’s going through a bit of a tough time himself at the moment, just with some family related issues. I really wanted to do this for him more than anything. He’s, instilled a lot of confidence in me from when I was young and probably didn't even have a lot of confidence in myself. So I’m just very happy to be able to do this for him and to put a smile on his face back at home.”
Sweden’s Simon Forsstrom topped the leaderboard, closing with a three-under 68 to win by two strokes from France’s David Ravetto on 29-under par as 28 players secured their cards for the 2023 season which means in South Africa and Australia next week.
Hurley is taking time off but Murphy plans to play next week’s Joburg Open at Houghton, where Challenge Tour graduate Tom McKibbin will make his debut as a full card holder.
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Article Link: Hurley and Murphy clinch DP World Tour cards in Spain - News - Irish Golf Desk