His job with the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office keeps Lieutenant Barney Murphy too busy to play much golf. But when the 49-year-old canine handler from Ireland received an invitation to meet newly anointed U.S. Open champ and fellow countryman Rory McIlroy at a Cape Cod golf course Monday, Murphy jumped at the chance.
Little did the veteran dog officer know that he would end his day shuttling McIlroy and his father Gerry from Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee, Mass., to Boston’s Logan Airport. Yet there he was, with “the most famous golfer in America and Ireland” in the passenger seat of his county police car and playing with his dog, Jaxx.
“He’s a dog-lover, like me,” Murphy told us Wednesday in a telephone interview. “We were talking about dogs and how we train dogs for police work.”
McIlroy, who flew directly from his four-day conquest of Congressional Country Club in Maryland to the Cape for a previously scheduled sponsor’s event, was set to take a limo back to Boston. But Murphy, who said that “the wheels were turning in my head,” offered to provide the ride as well as a police escort (sans the blaring siren) for the golfer and his dad.
“It didn’t make sense that the most famous golfer in America and Ireland would just jump into a car and go to Boston without any security,” Murphy said.
Before they hit the road, Murphy spent time chatting with the elder McIlroy about the economy and their similar backgrounds. “I’m from Dublin and he’s from up in Belfast,” said Murphy, who retains a bit of an Irish lilt.
The affinity between father and son (“They’re like two best friends,” said Murphy) was in evidence during the young golfer’s tour de force performance at Congressional, as Gerry spent the week in Bethesda with his talented offspring. When McIlroy the younger lifted the trophy on Sunday night — Father’s Day — he dedicated his victory to his dad.
“Happy fathers day, dad,” McIlroy said. “This one’s for you.”
As for the airport jaunt, Murphy got the okay from his boss and the Massachusetts State Police in nearby Yarmouth to accompany the McIlroys to their plane. During the 90-minute rush-hour drive, the conversation naturally turned to golf, and Murphy asked if the young champion would say a few words to his nephew back in Ireland.
McIlroy said sure and Murphy reached his sister, Joan Dodd, via Skype on his iPad. Sister and nephew Sean were blown away to talk with Ireland’s new national hero, who told the 10-year-old youngster in Dublin to have fun on the course.
“‘I started when I was very young too,’” Murphy said McIlroy told his nephew, “‘so just enjoy the game and keep playing.’”
The Willowbend event began Monday morning, and, despite having a whirlwind few hours that included not a wink of sleep after his eight-stroke victory over Jason Day Sunday, McIlroy was in no hurry to scurry away from his fans. Indeed, the 22-year-old from Holywood, Northern Ireland, signed autographs for three hours following a day knocking it around with Willowbend owner Paul Fireman.
“He said, ‘This is my job. I’ve got the best job in the world and I enjoy doing it,’” according to Murphy. “No problem; he just whipped out his Sharpie pen.
“He just wants to sit back and relax and shoot the [breeze] with everybody,” Murphy added.
In the estimation of the veteran police officer, who was a guest Monday of PR honcho and summertime Willowbend resident, George Regan, McIlroy is as down to earth and humble as he appears to be.
“I’ve seen some rich and famous people, and the way they treat people is disgraceful,” Murphy observed. Not so, McIlroy, who, when staying with his parents, “has to pick up his laundry and put away the dishes,” Murphy said, according to the lad’s dad.
“He puts his pants on, one leg at a time,” said Murphy, basking in the after-glow of time spent with an Irish sporting hero.
Murphy stopped short of asking R-Mac for any tips for his own game. “It would take him hours to teach me how to correct what I’m doing wrong,” Murphy said. “I play recreationally but I don’t keep count.”
In the Getty Images photo, Rory McIlroy (r.) enjoys his new U.S. Open trophy with his father Gerry
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
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