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 as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and currently plays on the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

. Murphy has won 21 tournaments as a professional.

Early years

Murphy was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. 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 university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

( 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 (NC ...

's Florida Gators men's golf team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(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, and was recognized as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 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 most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

tournament was a second-place tie at the 1970 PGA Championship. Murphy won 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour (now the

). Murphy first got into broadcasting while still playing. He joined

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...

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

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

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 for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

in November 1999, and was a tower announcer for the PGA Tour on NBC through 2009, at which point he retired. He was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

Personal life

Murphy lives in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in 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 in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

with his wife, Gail.

Amateur wins (2)

*1965

*1966 NCAA championship (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

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 (with

Jim Colbert James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He attended Kansas State University, where he finished second in the NCAA golf championsh ...

) *1996 Diners Club Matches (with Jim Colbert) *2013 Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf - 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 featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

(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 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Professional *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

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 American golf commentators 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 Sigma Alpha Epsilon members 20th-century American sportsmen