Profile: Temple Men’s Golf Senior Liam McGrath

Written by: Alex Ortiz

Playing golf for Temple University has been everything Liam McGrath could ask for and more and he has high hopes going into his senior season. 

He picked up his first club at age 11 and immediately fell in love with the game but didn’t begin to get serious about it until his senior year of high school.

McGrath’s high school, Academy of the New Church, didn’t have a golf team so he resorted to competing in various tournaments around Pennsylvania. McGrath credited the structure provided by playing for a team at Temple in assisting him in the transition from high school to college. 

“Now, playing in college, I love it,” said McGrath. “There’s a lot of structure, I have mandatory lifts, practice, I’m always doing something.”

Having that team structure of a team and support system is something he’s extremely grateful for. 

“From my coaches to to my teammates, there’s just a big inclusiveness, and I absolutely love it,” McGrath said.

Throughout his playing career, he’s faced plenty of adversity that has helped shape him into golfer he is today. 

The summer after his sophomore season, McGrath had surgery causing him to miss the majority of his junior year season. He played in one tournament, the Explorer Invitational, and shot an 80-84. McGrath recalled it as the worst performance of his career. He steamrolled that performance into motivation, not only to bounce back stronger from injury, but improve his career overall. 

“Playing like that really lights a fire under you, come back and practice harder, it’s all motivation,” he said. 

McGrath is entering his senior year but he’s not ready to call it quits as an Owl. Liam has a 5th year of eligibility with the opportunity to continue playing next year. 

As for this upcoming season, McGrath is hungry to get back out on the course. After shooting a 6 under 65 earlier in the fall, he’ll look to carry his strong play into the upcoming season. 

McGrath wants to leave his mark on Temple Men’s golf and he’s excited to pass the torch to his little brother, Conner, a sophomore on the team. Liam hopes he can teach him what he’s learned to help improve his brother for the future. 

“It’s been such a great learning experience because I’ve been there. I can give a little bit of wisdom I have to him,” said Liam. “It’s been really good seeing him shape into the person and golfer that he wants to be.”

The future may be unknown for McGrath due to the potential for a 5th year of eligibility but he’s looking to take everything he’s learned and experienced so far in his playing career, and use that as fuel leading into his senior season.