College sports are filled with athletes who have dedicated most of their lives to honing their sport’s skill. Then there’s Dan Murphy, a relatively new, yet outstanding Cabrini golfer.
Murphy is a senior business management major, and all-star golfer for the men’s golf team. He has recently earned the title of the Atlantic East Conference’s Men’s Golfer of the Week after leading Cabrini at the Muhlenberg Fall Invitational. Being named Men’s Golfer of the Week is something Murphy is familiar with, as he has earned that title five times during his collegiate golfing career.
How golf entered Murphy’s life
Murphy started his sporting career as a baseball player. “It’s funny. I used to play baseball. It was my whole life growing up. I was a good baseball player, but I was undersized,” Murphy said. He played baseball in high school, until watching the golf team piqued his interest.
“Our baseball field backed up to the golf course. And I would see the golf team going to practice and I’m like ‘These kids are having more fun than me!’ So I decided I wanted to try it out,” Murphy said.
He had played golf recreationally when he was younger and the sport came easily to him. Murphy explained, “I was pretty good when I was young, so I knew I could do it. Then I went out and on the first round of golf I shot 95. I knew I had something, so I started being serious with my practice.”
Murphy began to practice daily, getting dropped off at the course and spending the entire day getting better. “I’d even hit balls in the woods behind my house, just doing anything I could to improve in the early days,” he said.
The challenges of golf
Murphy dedicated over five years to golf, but still finds plenty of areas where he can improve. “I like improving, specifically in my short-game. I love practicing my short-game because even on days where you’re not striking the ball that great, your short game can save you,” he explained. He dedicates countless hours to practice, spending 80 percent of a typical practice working on putting and improving his short-game, while the other 20 percent is spent on the range, practicing his long drives.
“It’s a hard game,” he said. “You can never truly get satisfied in golf. One day you play great and shoot under par, then the next makes you think you stink. It’s just never-ending attempts to improve.”
Because he is so dedicated to improving, Murphy was named Men’s Golfer of the Week on five separate occasions. He’s also finished fifth at the Atlantic East Conference Championship in the 2018-19 season, won the Cabrini Invitational in the 2019-2020 season, and placed second at the Atlantic East Conference Championship during the 2021-22 season.
Murphy’s golfing goals
Golf enabled Murphy to travel to many courses from Florida to Kentucky for competitions. “I’ve been lucky here at Cabrini, we’ve played at so many nice courses. But Pebble Beach, Augusta, and Cypress Point are the three I want to play at,” he said.
Murphy’s impact on Cabrini’s golf team is already incredible, and it seems Cabrini will leave an equal impact on him. Murphy said, “Winning four conference championships here and going to nationals . . . That’s something I won’t forget. Winning with this team has been great.”
After he graduates, Murphy intends to continue his golfing career. He plans to compete in amateur tournaments and hopes to join the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Murphy said, “I’m for sure going to keep working on my game. I love playing golf, but I like playing good golf even more.”
