TOP 20 IN THEIR 20s: No. 14  Editor's Note: Our "Top 20 in Their 20s" series continues as PGATOUR.com counts down the top golfers on the PGA TOUR aged 20-29 over the next two weeks. The list is based on 14 statistical categories, including TOUR wins, Official World Golf Ranking, percentage of time spent in the top 10 throughout their career and 2007 FedExCup performance. Get to know No. 14: Ryan Moore.
In 2004 Ryan Moore's name was all over the place. Moore had just been named an All-American for the fourth time and won the NCAA Championship while playing at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. But Moore didn't stop there that summer.
Two years prior, Moore won the U.S. Amateur Pub Links Championship, which he promptly won again after his NCAA Championship. Moore followed that win up with victories at the U.S. Amateur, the Western Amateur and the Sahalee Players Championship. Moore had his breakout year on TOUR a year later. Oddly enough, though, Moore wasn't a TOUR member. He was still an amateur for most of 2005. After tying for 13th at the Masters, the low amateur of the event, and making the cut at the U.S. Open in his last start as an amateur, Moore turned pro at the 2005 Barclays Classic. In the fall, Moore tied for second at the Bell Canadian Open and was the only player to post all four rounds at par or better. His second place earned him $440,000 and the status of Special Temporary Member, which allowed him to play on unlimited sponsor's exemptions for the rest of the year. Moore's earnings put him at No. 120 on the money list that year, allowing him to bypass q-school and the Nationwide Tour to earn a spot on the PGA TOUR. Moore was the first American since Tiger Woods in 1996 to do so. "He is some kind of player, he is impressive," Mickelson said of Moore during the 2005 Masters. "Certainly the type of player Ryan Moore is, I think he's an exception." Moore was not able to immediately build upon his 2005 performances his rookie year on TOUR, as he underwent surgery in his hand in March that year, making his transition out on TOUR a difficult one.
"I've been injured for the whole time I've been a professional. That's made things more difficult," Moore said. "It's just another level of things to deal with. There are a lot of things that have changed. I think it's overlooked how big of a transition it really can be." Out for eight weeks, Moore then returned as good as his old self with three top-10 finishes, including a tie for ninth at the PGA Championship. Moore managed to finish at No. 81 on the money list, more than enough to keep his TOUR card for his sophomore season. In 2007, he collected more than $1.5 million with three top-10 finishes, including the third runner-up of his career at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. Moore held the 36-hole lead at the inaugural Fry's Electronics Open before falling into a tie for sixth on the weekend. "I've had a lot of things happen in the first couple years that I was definitely hoping would not happen," Moore said. "I can either look at it as 'poor me' or 'why is this happening to me.' I've actually done a pretty great job of getting as far as I've gotten under the circumstances that I had to deal with. I got my TOUR card in eight starts with a broken hand the whole time. That's pretty good if you ask me." Who will be No. 13? Hint: This golfer was the No. 1-ranked college player during his senior year after winning four consecutive tournaments in the fall season. |
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