Michelle Murphy, a former LPGA Tour professional, was hired to her current position in August of 2004.
Last Spring, Murphy guided the Pilots to a first-place finish at the Elco Inc. Intercollegiate in Bakersfield, Calif. Taryn Kuida, Kaylyn Dodge, Kristin Howell and Lisa Okazaki each finished in the top-ten individually to help the Pilots take the team title by 12 strokes. Kuida finished second overall, just one behind the top individual finisher.
Kuida was also Portland’s top individual at the 2008 West Coast Conference Championships, as the Pilots placed third as a team. Kuida finished ninth to earn All-WCC Honors. Howell and Paige Rachor each earned all-conference honorable mention.
During the 2006-07 season, Murphy led the Pilots to the team title at the Northridge Spring Classic. The first-place finish marked the first team title for Portland since 2001 and only third overall since the women's golf program's inception in 1998. Individually, then-freshman Paige Rachor, who was the co-leader after the first round, finished second individually, two strokes off the pace.
At the 2007 WCC Championships, then-sophomore Taryn Kuida finished ninth individually to claim all-conference honors.
Murphy was a member of the LPGA Tour in 1998, 2000 and 2001. She competed in nine U.S. Women’s Open Championships from 1989 to 2006. In 2006, she was the co-transportation chair for the USGA Women's Amateur and was the only contestant to participate in and chair a USGA event during the same year.
She finished fifth at the 1997 New England Open Championship and was a three-time winner on the Players West Tour. She played in 23 tournaments and more than 30 pro-ams a year. During that time, Murphy had two top-15 finishes and became accustomed to the aspects of a traveling golfer. She also has extended experience playing on the LPGA FuturesTour. In the summer of 2005, Murphy played in four Futures Tour events and had a high finish of sixth-place at the Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic after carding a 212 (71-71-70).
Before accepting the position at Portland, Murphy worked as a golf instuctor at Intrawest Golf/Stratton Golf School in Stratton Mountain, Vt. beginning in May of 2002. She taught the fundamentals of golf along with the basics of the swing, etiquette, course managment, fun and score saving techniques. She was an assistant golf coach at Gateway Community College in Phoenix, Ariz., from 2003-04 and was responsible for recruiting, academics and player improvement. Most recently, Murphy worked as an assistant golf professional at the Quintero Golf and Country Club in Peoria, Ariz. She provided golf course maintenance and management of the course, led the members of the course in golf instruction and worked with golf course marketing to increase membership at the private facility.
A graduate of the University of New Mexico ('90), Murphy was a three-time member of the Western Athletic Conference All-Conference team while competing for the Lobos. She was runner-up at the 1988 Women’s Western Amateur Championship. Murphy was a two-time winner of the Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) Amateur Championship in 1988 and 1989. She was also an individual qualifier at the NCAA Division I National Tournament her senior year.
A native of Tacoma, Wash., Murphy has been a summer camp counselor at Stanford University and was an assistant with the Junior Golf Association of Arizona, as well as the Washington Junior Golf Association.