Black Golfers to Honor Oakland Native for Work in Diversity

By Oakland Post Staff

Oakland native Kendall Murphy will be inducted into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 29, 2022.

It will be the latest accomplishment for Murphy, 36, who has a string of accomplishments with the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA).

He is a former PGA career consultant, PGA golf pro, college golf coach and assistant director of the Professional Golf Management program at University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Further, Murphy is the first director of diversity, equity and inclusion for Troon, a golf course management company operating in more than 30 countries.

Murphy has more than a dozen years of experience in the golf industry, most recently serving as a career consultant for the PGA of America supporting the Northern California PGA Section. Concurrently, he works as an adjunct professor at the Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas (UNLV). From 2012 through May 2021, Murphy was the assistant director and program coordinator of UNLV’s PGA Golf Management Program.

He is a member of the PGA of America and a two-time winner of the Southern Nevada Chapter of the PGA’s Golf Professional of the Year award (2018 and 2019).

Murphy’s diverse background in golf started in Oakland, where he worked as a head golf professional at Metropolitan Golf Links and then in Moraga as the assistant men’s golf coach at St. Mary’s College of California.

Although he was not a professional golfer, Murphy developed an interest in the sport when, at age 10, he played in the junior program at Lake Chabot Golf Course. He attended Oakland’s St. Paschal’s Elementary School and then Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School and Berkeley High School, where he was a member of the league-winning Varsity Golf Team.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation with a concentration in professional golf management from UNLV and a master’s degree in Kinesiology/sport management from St. Mary’s College of California.

He is also the co-founder/co-chair of the Black PGA Professionals Caucus and currently serves on the PGA National Education Committee.

When interviewed, Murphy said, “Our world is in an unprecedented time for transformation through intentional action. The future of excellence is one that paves the way for diversity equity and inclusion with ease. I am honored to be a part of growing the Troon experience of excellence with my new position and being part of this visionary team. I am dedicated to creating the industry blueprint for others to follow.”

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