Completed Event: Men's Golf at John A. Burns Intercollegiate on February 12, 2026 , , 13th of 19
M Golf
at John A. Burns Intercollegiate
13th of 19
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Coro: Golf, GCU fit Murphy to a tee
10/25/2017 9:49:00 AM | Men's Golf, Paul Coro
Lopes senior won consecutive tournaments
Vinnie Murphy looked like he was meant to play golf at age 2, when his father put a club in his hands.
In his mother's video of the life-changing event, his older sister's swings are whiffing the ball while he turns into a toddler titan off the tee.
"I was ripping golf balls," Murphy said.
Between that moment and winning Grand Canyon's past two tournaments, golf has given the Lopes senior more ups and downs than any round.
Murphy is rolling these days with a stroke average (69.67) that ranks 33rd among all NCAA Division I golfers. His golf youth started that sharply, too.
He hit the Washington junior golf circuit at age 8. By 13, college coaches followed him during rounds.
"It put a lot of expectations on me," Murphy said. "My high school career was not the best because of it. I had all the top schools recruiting me at 13, and then I was just looking for someplace to go by my junior year."
Murphy was losing the love of the game that he formed with his father, Vincent. His dad was a weekend golf warrior who kept his son on grass, whether it was playing golf or working for his landscaping company.
In the summers, Murphy was mowing tall grass if he was not pitching out of it. That helped his father support his golf ambitions, as did his mother, Jill, with her work perks as a flight attendant to get them to and from youth golf tournaments. Her job is still paying off to allow his parents to attend his college tournaments, such as this week's Lopes trip to the 19-team Visit Stockton (Calif.) Pacific Invitational.
Phoenix brought Murphy's game back originally in 2013-14, when he played his freshman collegiate season at South Mountain Community College. He was named the nation's top junior college freshman player and left after one season for Coastal Carolina.
Admittedly distracted and unfocused, his golf game again landed in a bunker there.
Murphy had one more transfer to try and wanted to return to Phoenix. He turned down a small Arizona State offer to come to GCU, where the required redshirt year away from golf competition was a godsend to reboot his game.
"I just needed some time away," Murphy said. "I was always thinking about it. That year, he (Lopes head coach Mark Mueller) didn't put any pressure on me. I came to practice, but more to just hang out than to grind. That year was big for me. I had lost my passion for it. That year, I found it again."
After his redshirt year, Murphy's golf career turned in the summer of 2016 when he qualified for the U.S. Amateur Open. Murphy carried that momentum into his debut GCU season, carding eight top-10 finishes before closing his junior season by capturing the Western Athletic Conference individual title in May.
"He hits it very straight," Mueller said. "He can get it up and down from a trash can. He really believes in himself when it comes down to crunch time."
Murphy still had room to improve with his putting, which he honed this summer on his neighborhood nine-hole course's putting green in Puyallup, Wash. That catapulted him to a victory in the Kansas City area at the Bill Ross Intercollegiate, where he won medalist honors with one bogey over three rounds.
The following week, he obliterated another 12-team field with a GCU Division I record tournament score of 199. He won that Herb Wimberley Intercollegiate at New Mexico State by five strokes with teammate Jake Chanen finishing second.
"Vinnie's very respectful, works really hard," Mueller said. "We talk about just doing your job, and that's what he does. The thing I've been most proud about this year is he's become the leader on the team. He commands their respect and that helps a lot."
Murphy already has a Business Management degree and is now pursuing a master's degree in Leadership. He is a worry-free athlete to coach in every category – academics, work ethic, talent.
It has come together at the ideal time for Murphy and GCU, amid its first season of NCAA Division I postseason eligibility.
"Coming here is the best decision I ever made," Murphy said. "It's like family. Coach Mueller has been a father figure to me."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
In his mother's video of the life-changing event, his older sister's swings are whiffing the ball while he turns into a toddler titan off the tee.
"I was ripping golf balls," Murphy said.
Between that moment and winning Grand Canyon's past two tournaments, golf has given the Lopes senior more ups and downs than any round.
Murphy is rolling these days with a stroke average (69.67) that ranks 33rd among all NCAA Division I golfers. His golf youth started that sharply, too.
He hit the Washington junior golf circuit at age 8. By 13, college coaches followed him during rounds.
"It put a lot of expectations on me," Murphy said. "My high school career was not the best because of it. I had all the top schools recruiting me at 13, and then I was just looking for someplace to go by my junior year."
Murphy was losing the love of the game that he formed with his father, Vincent. His dad was a weekend golf warrior who kept his son on grass, whether it was playing golf or working for his landscaping company.
In the summers, Murphy was mowing tall grass if he was not pitching out of it. That helped his father support his golf ambitions, as did his mother, Jill, with her work perks as a flight attendant to get them to and from youth golf tournaments. Her job is still paying off to allow his parents to attend his college tournaments, such as this week's Lopes trip to the 19-team Visit Stockton (Calif.) Pacific Invitational.
Phoenix brought Murphy's game back originally in 2013-14, when he played his freshman collegiate season at South Mountain Community College. He was named the nation's top junior college freshman player and left after one season for Coastal Carolina.
Admittedly distracted and unfocused, his golf game again landed in a bunker there.
Murphy had one more transfer to try and wanted to return to Phoenix. He turned down a small Arizona State offer to come to GCU, where the required redshirt year away from golf competition was a godsend to reboot his game.
"I just needed some time away," Murphy said. "I was always thinking about it. That year, he (Lopes head coach Mark Mueller) didn't put any pressure on me. I came to practice, but more to just hang out than to grind. That year was big for me. I had lost my passion for it. That year, I found it again."
After his redshirt year, Murphy's golf career turned in the summer of 2016 when he qualified for the U.S. Amateur Open. Murphy carried that momentum into his debut GCU season, carding eight top-10 finishes before closing his junior season by capturing the Western Athletic Conference individual title in May.
"He hits it very straight," Mueller said. "He can get it up and down from a trash can. He really believes in himself when it comes down to crunch time."
Murphy still had room to improve with his putting, which he honed this summer on his neighborhood nine-hole course's putting green in Puyallup, Wash. That catapulted him to a victory in the Kansas City area at the Bill Ross Intercollegiate, where he won medalist honors with one bogey over three rounds.
The following week, he obliterated another 12-team field with a GCU Division I record tournament score of 199. He won that Herb Wimberley Intercollegiate at New Mexico State by five strokes with teammate Jake Chanen finishing second.
"Vinnie's very respectful, works really hard," Mueller said. "We talk about just doing your job, and that's what he does. The thing I've been most proud about this year is he's become the leader on the team. He commands their respect and that helps a lot."
Murphy already has a Business Management degree and is now pursuing a master's degree in Leadership. He is a worry-free athlete to coach in every category – academics, work ethic, talent.
It has come together at the ideal time for Murphy and GCU, amid its first season of NCAA Division I postseason eligibility.
"Coming here is the best decision I ever made," Murphy said. "It's like family. Coach Mueller has been a father figure to me."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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