Mark McGowan at Galgorm Castle
Gary Murphy admitted earlier in the week that he was in a “back to the wall” situation as he looks for a big week in the Black Desert NI Legends at Galgorm Castle, but despite commentating on DP World Tour events around the Ballymena resort, he only played it for the first time in Thursday’s Pro-Am.
“It’s really good, really difficult,” was his assessment immediately after the round. “Conditions are tough. As you know, we’ve had a brilliant summer and the temperatures just dropped so the ball is flying nowhere now, so we all need to recalibrate.
“But it’s good to get out and play today, but the forecast is not great. It’s going to be tough, testing conditions, but the course is in spectacular condition.”
There was just enough of a home feel to the turf to make him comfortable, but at the same time, he doesn’t feel that scoring is going to be too low over the 54 holes.
“The fairways remind me a lot of Carlow Golf Club,” he remarked. “I grew up in Kilkenny and, Carlow being nearby, it was always a really dry golf course, lovely turf to hit from, and this feels the very same. But it’s a good test, and I’m gonna have to play well, really.
“It’s always hard to predict, but I don’t think it’s going to be crazy low scoring because the greens are tricky. They’re quick and there’s a lot of undulations on them. I think the scoring might be better the first couple of days because they’re not going to set the pins that tough with the amateurs playing, but I think it’ll be a lot tougher on Sunday.”
The Pro-Am round was as much about getting a feel for where to aim for off the tee as anything else, but when it comes to the tricky greens, Murphy has a secret weapon in the form of his caddie for the week.
“I’m really lucky to have Chris Selfridge on the bag this week. He’s been around here a million times, so I actually didn’t do much homework on the greens out there today because he knows them so well,” Murphy explained.
“So, come tomorrow, he’s going to point me in the right direction and I just have to fire it in the right spot.”
