Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, and Tommy Fleetwood may be stars on today’s PGA and European Tours, but on Thursday they caught a glimpse of a potential member of the next wave of players set to invade golf and give them game.
13-year-old beats world No. 1 Dustin Johnson in Abu Dhabi par-3 contest
13-year-old Oscar Murphy stepped out of the crowd and onto the tee, then put it closer than the world No. 1 in a quick contest during the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
It’s not everyday that a young fan gets to tee it up with his idol, especially during an actual golf tournament. But 13-year-old Oscar Murphy not only had the chance to rub elbows with his hero, Rory McIlroy, during the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, he actually beat the top-ranked golfer in the world (DJ) and the 18-hole leader of the event (Fleetwood) in a closest-to-the-pin contest.
Murphy shook off nerves before stepping up and slamming a 3-wood into the 177-yard, par-3 15th hole at Abu Dhabi Golf Club during a Beat the Pro challenge. His ball ended up closer to the pin than either Dustin Johnson’s or Tommy Fleetwood’s, earning the respect of the tourney’s headliners.
“Got inside Tommy and Dustin,” McIlroy said about the remarkable shot from Murphy, who now lives in Abu Dhabi with his parents and plays the course on which Fleetwood carded a 6-under 66 to share the lead on day one.
McIlroy said the youngster, originally from Rory’s Northern Ireland, has followed him since the 2011 PGA Championship in Atlanta.
“I feel like he’s my little mascot. He’s waiting at the back of every green and every tee box,” noted McIlroy, who was surprised to see the kid inside the ropes and on the tee. “But it was good fun and he hit a great shot, a really, really good little swing.”
Fleetwood, the reigning Race to Dubai champion on the European Tour, agreed.
“The pin was tucked on the right and he hit his 3-wood, just faded into the pin,” said the 26-year-old Englishman. “Unbelievable shot. Me and Rory both said we don’t have that shot in our locker … Very, very impressive.”
Murphy admitted to a small case of the fidgets but he shook them off like a pro.
“When I was standing next to the tee box my legs were a big shaky,” Murphy said. “I was trying to do some stretches to try and get it off.”
As for his other-worldly shot, Murphy explained it as if he did so every week — just like the big boys.
”Played it a bit off the front foot,” he said. “A 3-wood, nice high fade, and it was just perfect.”
He won’t get any argument from the Big Three.
McIlroy, by the way, had a strong start to his 2018 season after a long layoff, posting a 69 to be in a multiplayer tie for 17th, just three strokes back of Fleetwood. Johnson will head into Friday’s second round tied for 69th at even-par.
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