Robert Joseph Murphy, Jr. (born February 14, 1943) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who was formerly a member of the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and currently plays on the Champions Tour. Murphy has won 21 tournaments as a professional.

Early years

Murphy was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He was a standout pitcher in his youth, and as a teen led his high school baseball team to the state championship in 1960. After suffering a football injury (which also ended his baseball career), Murphy got started in golf.

College career

Murphy attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

( Florida Upsilon Chapter). While he was an undergraduate, he played for coach

Buster Bishop Bernays Emery "Buster" Bishop (1920 – November 19, 2004) was an American college golf coach. Bishop was best known for leading the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA ...

Florida Gators men's golf The Florida Gators men's golf team represents the University of Florida in the sport of golf. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their home ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition from 1964 to 1966.
Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 29, 34, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011. While he was a college student, he won the 1965

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

and the 1966 individual

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

, and was recognized as an All-American in 1966. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance in 1966, and was later inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 1971.

Professional career

Murphy turned professional in 1967, and won five tournaments on the

. He was a member of the victorious U.S. team in the 1975 Ryder Cup competition.NBCSports.com, Golf
Bob Murphy, Tower Reporter
. Retrieved July 24, 2011. His best finish in a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

tournament was a second-place tie at the

1970 PGA Championship The 1970 PGA Championship was the 52nd PGA Championship, played August 13–16 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dave Stockton won the first of his two PGA Championships at 279 (−1), two strokes ahead of runners-up Bob Murphy ...

. Murphy won 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour). Murphy first got into broadcasting while still playing. He joined

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

as a tower announcer in 1984, working for CBS through 1991. He then joined

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

as a color commentator, where he stayed through 1994. After a break from TV to play on the Senior PGA Tour, he joined

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

in November 1999, and was a tower announcer for the

PGA Tour on NBC Golf telecasts have aired on NBC since 1954, with some of its earliest telecasts having included the 1954 U.S. Open, and the first televised coverage of the Ryder Cup in 1959. Presently, NBC televises around 8 PGA Tour events per-season, alter ...

through 2009, at which point he retired. He was inducted into the

Florida Sports Hall of Fame The Florida Sports Hall of Fame (FSHOF) is an association dedicated to honoring athletes with outstanding achievement in sports in Florida. It has expanded its goals to include encouraging physical fitness among Florida's citizens through the examp ...

in 2011.

Personal life

Murphy lives in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...

with his wife, Gail.

Amateur wins (2)

*1965

*1966

(individual)

Professional wins (23)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–5)

Australian wins (1)

*1972

Wills Masters The Wills Masters was a golf tournament held in Australia and played annually from 1963 to 1975. The Wills Classic had been held in Australia from 1960 and 1962. Total prize money from 1963 to 1965 was A£4,000. In 1966 and 1967 it was A$8,000 ...

Other wins (3)

*1967

Florida Open The Florida Open is the Florida state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is now organized by the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA). It has been played annually since 1942 at a variety of courses around the ...

*1979 Jerry Ford Invitational *1980

South Florida PGA Championship The South Florida PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the championship of the South Florida section of the PGA of America. The tournament has been played annually since 1979, the year the section was founded. Alan Morin and Paul Trittle ...

Senior PGA Tour wins (11)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.'' Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

Other senior wins (3)

*1995

Diners Club Matches The Hyundai Team Matches were a series of golf tournaments from 1994 to 2002. The matches features four two-player teams from the LPGA Tour, the PGA Tour, and the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour). Within each tour, the teams competed in a ma ...

(with

Jim Colbert James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer. Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Kansas State University, where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964, before graduating ...

) *1996

(with Jim Colbert) *2013

Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

- Demaret Division (with Jim Colbert)

Results in major championships

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1971 PGA – 1976 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

: 1967 (winners) *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

: 1966 Professional *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

(winners)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Bob American male golfers Florida Gators men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golf writers and broadcasters Golfers from New York (state) Golfers from Florida Mulberry High School (Mulberry, Florida) alumni Sportspeople from Brooklyn Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida 1943 births Living people