Kinsale golfer Murphy is stepping back from tour life to rediscover his ‘passion’ and ‘hunger’

KINSALE golfer John Murphy is taking a break from the tour after admitting he has lost his ‘sense of enthusiasm’ for the game.

He has enjoyed a dramatic rise in recent years, winning his DP World Tour card for 2023 last November having only turned professional in the summer of 2021.

Murphy, however, has struggled to make an impact this year, and has only made the cut twice – at the Soudal Open in May when he finished tied 28th and at the Andalucia Challenge de Cadiz where he finished tied for 56th last month.

The 25-year-old admits that in recent months he is not enjoying golf, with it feeling like a job more than his sporting passion, and so has decided to step back from the tour for a short period.

‘Ever since I started playing the game, all I ever wanted to do was be a professional golfer and play amongst the best golfers in the world. Whilst I’m grateful for the life that I live and the way we are treated on tour, with this has come a lot of added stresses and demands,’ Murphy wrote on Instagram.

‘Over recent months, golf has started to feel like a job for me when it’s always felt like a passion. I have lost the sense of enthusiasm I have always had for the game and this, in turn, has taken away from my enjoyment of playing.

‘Striving for perfection and often doing things because I feel I should has made me lose sight of what has gotten me here in the first place.

‘After recent struggles, I’ve decided to withdraw from the next couple of events to take some time away and get the hunger back to play and compete.

‘Thank you to everybody who has reached out in support, it doesn’t go unnoticed,’ he added.