These Guys Are Good, This Guy Is A Horse's Ass
How good are PGA Tour players compared to their low-grade (or even high-grade) amateur brethren?
Fact #1: they would demolish your regular course. Folks also discuss Tour layouts and what the average “insert handicap” golfer would shoot (see Fact #2 below).
Fact #2: these courses would be more difficult than going to a nude beach with your in-laws and those vanity handicaps from the Sandy Crevice Golf & Country Club simply wouldn’t hold up.
Realities aside, who wouldn’t sign up for a tour event, or a Monday qualifier? The requirements:
- cost of the entry fee and a verified handicap of two (or lower) for amateurs
- cost of the entry fee if you’re a professional
- either way, dress the part, pack your golf bag and do your best to show you belong
Enter Connor Murphy, exclaiming “Hold my warm, backwashed PBR”:
- entered the recent Korn Ferry Tour’s qualifier in Texas as a professional
- dressed in an outfit resembling something the Easter Bunny vomited up
- golfed barefoot (clearly not offered a Sqairz shoes endorsement like Faldo)
- hauled his clubs and gear in a Costco wagon, like a paperboy who forgot his route
- promptly shot 108 (+36), finishing DFL by a smooth 16 shots
From Happy Gilmore tee shots to one-handed chips, Murphy had a rarified septuple bogey bookend to his round, along with a mixed bag wagon of scores throughout his day.
Hey Murph, can you tell us WITB?
Through no lack of trying on our end, Murphy has not responded to an interview request to ascertain what the motivation was for this stunt. We were really hoping to get the full details here, including the always popular “What’s in the bag, err, wagon?” segment that golf gearheads drool over.
This certainly reeks of another stunt from Maurice Flitcroft in the 1970s who got into the Open with the same “Yeah, I’m a professional” routine as Murphy.
The rules for tournament entry have since changed on most major tours, but perhaps the gates need to be re-tightened for other events, such as these development-tour qualifiers.
