Murphy Wins 57th PNGA Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship
Sunriver, Ore. (August 19, 2011) – The 57th Pacific Northwest Junior Boys’ Amateur Championship conducted by the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) wrapped up today at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. on the Meadows Course with a 36-hole championship match.
Kevin Murphy of Rogue River, Ore. and good friend Dylan Wu of Medford, Ore. battled for the championship in a 36-hole match that would need every hole to determine the champion. In the morning match, Murphy took a 2-up lead after winning holes 4 and 5 but Wu would square things back up after taking the 9th and 11th holes. A chip in eagle on the shortened par-4 15th hole gave Murphy the lead once again but Wu’s par on the difficult finishing hole squared the match again before the players took a brief lunch break.
In the afternoon it was Wu who drew first blood after birdying the 5th hole but Murphy answered with a birdie on the 6th hole and Wu then countered with another birdie on the 7th hole to regain the lead. The lead didn’t last long as Murphy then birdie the 9th hole to get back to all square with just 9 holes remaining. Wu made one last charge by winning the 12th hole but Murphy again answered with a birdie on the par-3 13th hole. Both players halved the 14th and 15th holes but a costly 3-putt double bogey on hole 16 gave Murphy the final lead. The par-5 16th hole was halved with pars as Wu was forced to putt with a sand wedge and missed a short 4-footer for birdie and then the 18th hole was halved with bogeys giving Murphy the 1up victory.
In his awards ceremony speech, a very grateful and gracious Murphy thanked the golf resort staff, the championship staff, volunteers, and congratulated his good friend and opponent Wu for a hard fought match. Murphy a 17 year old and soon to be junior in high school said, “I have had a very busy summer and this is a great way to cap it off. I am looking forward to resting for a while but I am sure that won’t last long and I will be back out on the course very soon.”
