Southern Pines – After a strong final stretch, Connor Golden of Murphy shot a four over par 76 to finish tied for fifth place at the state 1A championship.
Boys golfers from 1A schools across the state headed to Southern Pines – also home to the historic Pinehurst golf courses – to take on Longleaf Golf & Family Club. After rain delayed the first round, they played 18 holes instead of 36 to decide a state champion on May 13.
Golden started his state championship round on the 10th hole and opened with three consecutive pars.
He then bogeyed hole 13 and double bogeyed 14 to get to three over par. He holed his fourth par of the round on the 15th hole. Then he bogeyed 16, but followed it up with a birdie on 17. He parred 18 – his ninth hole of the day – to finish his first nine at three over par.
He opened his second nine with a bogey to sit at four over par. After a par on the hole two, he chipped it in from off the green for his second birdie of the round to get to three over.
Murphy’s boy golf coach Joseph Watson spoke on his chip-in birdie.
“That chip in there was is like a Tiger Woods moment where he hit it up on the edge, and then it rolled down and went in. So he was excited,” Watson said.
“We were excited and at the time he did that, I think it put him in like fourth or fifth in the tournament, so he was excited about that. And backed it up on the next hole and continued playing well.”
Golden followed it up with back-to-back pars. Heading down the stretch, he bogeyed the sixth and seventh holes to sit at five over par with two holes to play.
On his 17th hole of the day – hole eight – he holed his third birdie of the day to get to four over par. He ended his state-championship round with a par to shoot a four over 76.
“It was really supposed to be a 36-hole tournament, but we had a whole lot of rain in the first day, so we played five holes in an absolute downpour the first day in which he was he was four over in those five holes,” Watson said.
“Right before they stopped the tournament was a heavy downpour, and he ended up he made the double on par five right before they stopped it, which was hurting a little bit. You know, it’s kind of the luck of your draw, or luck at your tee time.
“A lot of players hadn’t been on the course yet, and they had to play in the heaviest part of the rain, which it is what it is. That’s part of golf, but the second day he played great. He was even par the second day for the holes he had remaining.
“He only had 10 putts on the second nine, which helped him out tremendously. Chipped in for birdie on four and then back-to-back par threes, and he made a birdie on the next one. So he had a stretch where he one-putted about six holes in a row or didn’t putt on one of them and finally had one two-putt. But his putter got hot, and it’s a good time for your putter to get hot in the state championship.”
Golden is the first Murphy golfer to compete in the state championship since Wyatt “Squid” Simmons in 2022.
Watson has coached Golden, a senior, since he was a freshman.
“Yeah, it’s great for me. I’ve had him since he’s a freshman and he’s continued getting better,” Watson said.
“Him and his brother (Bradey Golden) have been great, they’ve gotten better every year and continue to work hard every year, and it was just great to see him play that well when he wanted to the most. It was great to see him play his best and not have to worry about it; he got himself in contention there on the second night, and it was cool to see.”
During the regular season, Golden had multiple wins and strong finishes. He also earned All-Smoky Mountain Conference honors for his senior season.