Soccer-mad Gary Murphy landed a major sponsorship deal yesterday and admitted: "You never give up on your dreams."

The 31 year old Kilkenny star has been backed by ACC Bank for the 2003 season as he bids to win his first European Tour event.

But Murphy, who gave up a promising football career to concentrate on golf, admits that he still dreams of playing for his beloved Liverpool.

He said: "I was a bit of a midfielder for Evergreen in Kilkenny and had trials for the Irish Under 13 and Under 15s before I gave it all up for golf.

"But you still dream those dreams of playing at Wembley or Anfield and as a golfer you don't just forget those dreams either."

Murphy has been all over the world since he turned professional in 1995.

He won the Asian Tour School in 1997 and played there for two winters, keeping his card each time.

He has also had a spell on the Canadian Tour and two full seasons on the Challenge Tour he still hasn't give up on his chances of making it big amongst the superstars of the game.

"Just because you play professionally doesn't mean that you forget about all those dreams of playing in the last round of the Open with Tiger," he admitted.

"I still want to do all that. Like any amateur, the pros dream of sinking the winning putt in the Open or the Masters and it's part of what keeps you going."

Having struggled over the years to keep his career on track, Murphy is nothing if not a realist.

And he confesses that he would settle for 115th place on this year's money list from the start.

"Obviously I want to do as well as I can but I'd take 115th right now. I mean there are over 300 million people living in Europe so to be one of the top 115 golfers on the Continent isn't bad."

Improvements in golf ball technology over the past 12 months have added extra yards to every pro's game.

Murphy has added over 22 yards to his drives since 2000 and with an average tee shot of 299 yards so far this season, he's delighted with his change to the Taylor Made R5 Hundred Series driver and a new golf ball.

But he was still giving Ernie Els an advantage of up to 50 yards off the tee in Singapore.

"I'm not a short hitter but on one par-five I had 260 yards to the green and I hit a great three-wood to just two feet.

"I couldn't believe it afterwards when Els' caddie told me that Ernie had hit a four-iron from about 210 yards. That's a big advantage."

But Murphy is still ambitious and he has shown enough form this season to suggest that he can knock off that maiden win.

Eighth in his season opening appearance at the South African Airways Open he was 15th in the Dunhill Championship the following week before making a superb start in the Caltex Masters in Singapore.

Rounds of 70 and 68 left him just two behind Ernie Els at the halfway stage before the wheels came off in a third round 81.

"I was just too aggressive and unfortunately had a golf ball that didn't float," he joked. "I was in the water four times but it just a question of trying to hit the wrong shots at the wrong time."

Six-footer Murphy stood tall in the final round and bounced back with a closing 71 that saved the week.

Now he's looking forward to creating a few more winning chances before the season ends.

"My career hasn't been all negative and struggled," he said. "There have been lots of highs and I have really learned a lot things over the years that will stand to me now.

"I'm not worried about anybody else's game now and I don't care who I am drawn with. I can just ignore the hype and play my own game."

Murphy finished in the money in his first three starts the year is currently ranked in the Top 50 in the European Tour Order of Merit.

Having successfully regained his Tour Card by finishing sixth in the 2002 PGA European Tour Qualifying School he intends to play around 25 events this year including both the Nissan Irish Open and the Smurfit European Open.

The ACC-Bank sponsorship is the Banks first venture into golf sponsorship at this level. Previously the Bank has sponsored rugby, soccer and golf in Ireland but all at local level.

Murphy took up golf at the age of eleven, was playing off scratch at 17 won full Irish International honours from 1992 to 1995 - including the Irish Amateur Close Championship in 1992.

After winning his European Tour Card in 2000, he finished 136th in the Order of Merit that year and spent the next two season on the Challenge Tour before resurrecting his game last season to win his card at the Qualifying School.

He took on a special diet, slimmed down to 13 stone and started to work on his short game with top coach Brendan McDaid.

Now he's back where he feels he belongs.

"It's a great feeling and I'm really looking forward to the the challenge," he said. "I'll still be dreaming of those dream moments. But I also know that I am capable of playing as well as anyone out there."

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© Brian Keogh 2003

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