(January 19, 2026) – In October of 2023 Bob Murphy played stellar golf across two days at the 78th Connecticut Senior Amateur hosted by Silver Spring Country Club. One year earlier Murphy was a late withdrawal from the Connecticut Senior Amateur so that he could assist with the cleanup in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. While in Florida helping with the cleanup Murphy tore both of his rotator cuffs and was sidelined for 10 months. Fast forward 365 days and Murphy was holding the 78th Connecticut Senior Amateur trophy and celebrating his first career CSGA individual major title.
“This win is definitely validation,” Bob Murphy said at the time. “I’ve had a couple of heartbreaking losses. The match play final [in 2021] was tough but I just didn’t let it get me down. I just said if it is meant to be it is going to happen and that I am just going to keep playing my game.”
A short time after his impressive three-shot victory over Patrick McGuiness and Ken Parisi, Murphy shared his thoughts on his performance:
Here I sit, looking back at the 78th Senior Amateur and I still can’t believe the outcome. After I won I stayed up at night replaying the drives, the approach shots, and mostly the putts. I have been playing in CSGA events for years and I still can’t believe after so many close calls that I was finally able to break through and win my first individual major title.
Starting the final day, I was sure the winner would come from our group. Four great scores on the opening day paired us together. The weather for the final round was spectacular and in my opinion, the course was too hard for anybody to go low and catch us from behind.
The greens were just too fast, the rough was too high and those hidden fairway bunkers were everywhere. The conditions and the setup at Silver Spring Country Club were perfect.
I felt pretty good the morning of the final round. So much so, that I pulled my opening 4-wood into the fescue on the left and proceeded to make bogey. “Nice going knucklehead,” I said to myself. However, I found a second gear quickly and proceeded to get back on track completing the front nine in even-par 35. With nine holes to play still anybody in our group could win.
For most of the day I honestly never thought once about my position or their scores until I saw one of my playing partners, Pat McGuiness looking at the scores on the 16th hole.
I remember saying to Pat, “I don’t want to know where we all stand,” but then I changed my mind on the 17th tee.
“You are up by one on Ken Parisi and two on me,” Pat said. I’m not sure if that made me more nervous or more comfortable but my driver cooperated and I pounded two of the best drives of the day, leaving sand wedges into both 17 and 18 that set up pars that got the job done.
When I got off the course I was numb and saying to myself, “Did this really just happen?”
After tearing both of my rotator cuffs in 2022 I’m very fortunate to be healthy and to be able to compete with such great guys. The win means the world to me. Winning a CSGA individual major is an exclusive club that I’m proud to be a member of.
About the Connecticut State Golf Association
The Connecticut Senior Amateur is one of 20 championships conducted by the Connecticut State Golf Association. The CSGA functions as an extension of the USGA and provides stewardship for amateur golf in Connecticut. Founded in 1899, it is the country’s oldest state golf association and conducts over 60 Championships, Qualifiers, and One Day Tournaments throughout the year.
