Facing the best the state could offer under some pretty extreme circumstances, Haverhill High’s Tommy Murphy rose nicely to the occasion on Tuesday at the MIAA Division 1 State Golf Championship.
The senior Murphy carded a four-over par round of 75, just missing a three-way tie for first-place at 74 in the event at The Ridge Club in Sandwich. The score placed the Hillie standout in a four-way tie for fourth.
“I’m pretty happy. It was super windy out there today,” said Murphy. “It’s been a good season, and it’s great to go out with a strong showing at states.”
Flirting with the top of the leaderboard all day long, Murphy said the keep was trying to keep the ball out of the blowing gusts.
“I really had to flight my shots a lot lower today. It’s something I have been working on for a while,” said Murphy. “I think the harder course
“I was hitting my approach shots well, hitting to the middle of the greens, not missing in bad spots. There was a lot of OB out there, and keeping it in the fairway was important.”
Central’s Harry Garland, the lone other area individual to qualify for the D-1 state final, shot a nine-over par 80 to tie for 16th place overall.
Andover High finished 10th among the 12 qualifying teams in the event, which was dominated by champion Xaverian Brothers and runner-up Saint John’s Prep.
The Warriors’ scorers were: 42. Rob Linehan 85; 42. James Dunham 85; 68. Lucas Jenney 89; 85. Max Mulhern 94; 87. Vincent Giaimo 96; 93. Luke Batchelder 103.
Hopefully, the long ride back from the Cape won’t affect the area players when they head to Long Meadow CC in Lowell on Wednesday morning as they tee it up one last time together in the MVC Open. Players are set to play at 10 a.m.
The season could also be extended once more for Murphy, who is awaiting word to whether he qualified for Sunday’s New England Championships in Connecticut. The MIAA announced that four players from the D-1 field would be selected to play. Since there was a four-way tie for fourth, those spots had yet to be announced.
“I’m very excited to play in the MVCs,” said Murphy, who won the event as a sophomore. “We might get a little rain, but it’s going to be a good day.”