JOURNAL SPORTS
NORMAN, Okla. – Louisiana Tech’s Sam Murphy shot in the red for a second consecutive day, firing a 70 (-2) in round two of the NCAA Norman Regional on Tuesday to move up 10 spots on the leaderboard into a tied for eighth at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.
Murphy, who is now at -3 for the tournament, putting himself in position to qualify for the NCAA Nationals. To do so, he needs to finish as the top overall individual on a team that does not finish in the top five. He is the only Bulldog in the regional field.
“He hit it really well today,” said Louisiana Tech coach Matt Terry. “There was an error here and there, but overall he had a great round. He putted the ball really well. The bounce-back eagle after the double and then the two bounce-back birdies after bogeys were great. That shows a lot of maturity in his game and the way he is playing. I look for more of the same tomorrow. He just needs to keep giving himself plenty of chances and see what the day brings.”
Said Murphy: “I hit the ball really well … made a couple simple mistakes that are easy to fix. I rolled the ball really well and executed some quality golf shots. The conditions were tough. Starting out they were not too bad, but about halfway through the round the wind got up and made the round difficult to play. It completely changed the whole golf course from yesterday. For tomorrow, I hope to give myself as many opportunities as possible.”
After a birdie on the par-3 second hole, Murphy ran into trouble at No. 4, making a double bogey.
However, the fifth-year senior responded as he did much of the day. On the longest hole of the course, the 627-yard Par 5 No. 5, he got to within 13 yards after his second shot. He followed that up by knocking in his chip for eagle to back to -1.
Murphy started the back nine with a bang by sinking back-to-back birdies, including his longest putt of the day, a 25-footer for birdie on the difficult 445-yard par 4 No. 11.
Photo by KANE MCGUIRE, Louisiana Tech
