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WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

August 23, 2009

Ryan Moore

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

DOUG MILNE: All right. We'd like to welcome the 2009 Wyndham Championship Open winner, Ryan Moore to the Interview Room.
Ryan, I know that's got to sound good. It was a great week for you. You played incredible. You hung in there and endured weather, endured the playoff and it's been a long time coming for you, very well deserved.
With the win you pick up 500 FedExCup points, you move up to 22nd on the list. Anyway, just talk about Ryan Moore, PGA TOUR Championship.
RYAN MOORE: I like the ring to that. That sounds great. I'll tell you that much. Man. I don't even know what to say right now. I'm so tired.
The last three days and then with the playoff and -- it's it just feels amazing. It's kind of crazy to start -- this was the first PGA TOUR event I ever played in was Greensboro in 2004. Not my first professional event. I qualified for the U.S. Open before that. My first PGA TOUR start. To start here and win here, that's pretty exciting.
I couldn't really have done it in a better place. But, yeah. Oh, man, this felt like an uphill battle the whole time I've been on the PGA Tour.
I just haven't been healthy, haven't felt like myself and, you know, really kind of got some good momentum at the U.S. Open, really started feeling just -- really feeling like myself again over the golf ball and just kind of getting some confidence back in the putter and really every aspect of the game.
So, you know, that's really carried through and, you know, carried through to this week and I was just able to play patient, really. That's what it was.
DOUG MILNE: Just touch on your patience real quick. You came off 18 in regulation and we talked earlier in the week about how your demeanor is very calm and so forth.
You came out, you did TV while you were waiting to see what happened. You didn't seem phased, you just seemed like you were still focused, you knew that there was a very realistic chance of a playoff and, again, I'll ask you, is that something you have to force yourself into that mode or does it come naturally?
RYAN MOORE: You know, demeanorwise, yeah, that's just kind of how I am. I'm very relaxed and low key in all sorts of situations no matter what, which suits me well for golf.
But really today, I got -- it comes down to the fact it was on the 8th hole, you know, I wasn't playing that great in that round and I finished up okay in the morning and just -- I just bogeyed No. 7 and just kind of really wasn't feeling that great and, you know, I just -- it was a real simple thought and I just simply like walked off the green and I said -- I had to give myself a little pep talk, and just said, "Ryan, why are you not playing like you're going to win this golf tournament?"
Even that the point in time I felt like I was enough out of it with the people who were leading, I didn't feel like I had a chance.
I really just kind of gave myself a pep talk and just said, "Let's hit every golf shot the rest of the day like you're going to win this golf tournament or like you're winning this golf tournament" with that type of confidence which I just -- I think you can kind of just lose -- you know over time, I haven't won, I haven't been in this position that much.
Lot of it is just confidence. And so I kind of talked myself into it a little bit there and just said, "All right. Let's do this, let's step over every shot and hit it like you're going to win this" and, you know, it started right there. I hit a good wedge shot, made a good putt and just kind of really started going.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. We'll open it up for some questions at this point.

Q. You thought that walking off 7 to 8?
RYAN MOORE: Yeah, I just bogeyed. I was kind of standing on the tee -- little frustrated obviously with myself and how I was playing. Just kind of how I felt out there. Really, I just kind of had a little reality check.
Was just like, "What are you doing? Why are you not playing like you're going to win this golf tournament?" That's how you have to be no matter if you're going to win or not. That's what going to make you finish strong.
That's really all I was going for was just a good strong finish, honestly, just kind of get some more FedExCup points, kind of move up that little list a little bit and get more comfortable for getting in those first three tournaments and -- but, yeah, I really wasn't thinking about winning necessarily, wasn't like, "Okay. You're going to go win this." It was a simple thought of, "Let's play from here on out like you're going to win."

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the frustrations you had or doubts, I don't know what it is coming out with the expectation when you came out?
RYAN MOORE: I haven't been healthy. My hand was hurting my very first professional tournament. I can't really say I've been myself the whole time I've been out here.
I've just been fighting those things which is far behind me now which it's not bothering me and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable but really it's just been a battle to get myself feeling like myself again.
With those kind of injuries and everything, you start compensating, start doing this or that and you start hitting it one direction. It's just a constant adjustment.
I just kind of thought eventually I would kind of start feeling like myself again. It hasn't really happened or wasn't happening and kind of started working on something right before the U.S. Open to start feeling good, kind of getting my left hand more involved back in my golf swing, the hand that I hurt, my left wrist, and really that's all I'm thinking about.
It's funny that it's something I did so naturally. Now as a conscious effort, you know, almost over every single shot is telling -- reminding myself to get my left hand to move how it should move.
Hopefully, I think down the line that will start just being natural again but it's really -- I sit there over every single shot and just think, "All right, let's get that left hand really active and get that feeling in the golf swing."

Q How does being a winner on Tour now change your perspective on picking up sponsors? How about the ball and glove?
RYAN MOORE: I have a ball and glove deal with Callaway. I have no idea. I'll have to kind of wait and see. I'm certainly not against sponsorships. That's not the idea behind this.
You know, for me, it was to get -- just kind of get the last three years behind me, you know, just lot of frustration. Haven't really played great golf necessarily and I've been close, I've had some good tournaments but I haven't been the player that I know that I am capable of being.
This year was kind of like a fresh start, kind of get it back to the basics and just go play golf and not worry about any of that other stuff on the side, and, you know, it's been great for me.
I wanted to make sure that I was playing the clubs that I wanted to play because I wanted to play them, not because I had to play them, you know, and it was a lot of that, just kind of getting back, thinking through like okay, do I really want to play this or am I kind of having to play this?
Certainly nothing against the, quote, equipment company that I was with before. They make great products and I'm still using the exact same irons. But a couple of equipment changes have been huge this year and really been official. It was a great decision and, you know, we'll see where it goes from here.

Q. Ryan, you talked about this being an appropriate place to win. Any flashbacks or thoughts while you're in Sedgefield today that helped you get here?
RYAN MOORE: Didn't play well here last year. The first time I played was over at whatever.

Q. Forest Oaks?
RYAN MOORE: Forest Oaks. There you go. I'm tired right now.
But, you know, for me, a lot of it was kind of thinking back to -- especially once I got in the playoff was thinking back to that playoff I had last year, I had a three hole playoff, and, you know, kind of had my opportunities and didn't capitalize and this year the whole time I just had a little clearer mindset and just said, "Let's try and take this into my own hands. Let's try and finish this off. Let's not try to make a par and see what the other guys do." That was really my mindset and, you know, that worked out for me.

Q. So have you come up with a name for the cap yet?
RYAN MOORE: Oh, yeah, I don't know. It's something. It's a Something Hat.

Q. Ryan, when was your last win, was in it college?
RYAN MOORE: Yeah. At Redstone Golf Club, the something something tournament in Houston. It was at Redstone, whatever that college tournament.

Q. Do you work with a sports psychologist? Sounds like you don't need one?
RYAN MOORE: No, I don't.

Q. You said you gave yourself a pep talk, you thought you were already out of it.
When did it kind of occur to you you were back into it today?
RYAN MOORE: I honestly never thought I was. I really didn't until I was standing on 18, you know, over that putt thinking, "You know, if I make this, you know, and stay at 17, I have a chance" but I really didn't think 16 had a chance at that point in time and I had all my efforts and all my energy focused on making that putt and so as soon as I didn't make that -- I didn't know -- obviously I wasn't watching anybody else. I didn't know how Sergio was playing.
When you got somebody like that who has won as much as he has, been in that position you're assuming he's going to be playing good coming down the stretch and make birdies.
At that one time I was just -- I wasn't expecting to be in a playoff. Once I found out I was, it was just a bonus.

Q. Ryan, after that playoff last year with Adam, did you feel like you were owed one today?
RYAN MOORE: No. Actually I figured it all works its way out. There's no such this thing as a bad bounce and good bounce. It all kind of works out.
And so, you know, whether I deserved this today because of that, I don't know. I was just out there, you know, just trying to control what I could control and that's me. It's as simple as that. I was just trying to hit good golf shots.
Played well even in that playoff. It was my first playoff experience and I hit some good shots and made some good putts and somebody made a 50-footer on me. Nothing you can do. That's just how golf works sometimes.
So, you know, I was trying to take control of it, though, this time as much as I could after having that experience, know that it was in my hands and I just had to hit the shot.

Q. Secondly, I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, I guess Tiger is probably the last U.S. Amateur Champion that's gone on to be a champion at the professional level.
Do you feel like you can be the next one if you stay healthy?
RYAN MOORE: The next what?

Q. The next U.S. Amateur Champion to become a champion at the top level.
RYAN MOORE: Sure. I think I did okay today. I just got to keep doing what I'm doing, not get too ahead of myself or too overwhelmed with this, just kind of -- it's as simple as I'm playing good golf right now. It's a good time of the year to be playing good golf. I just want to continue it.

Q. Go back to the putt on 18 there when it fell. You seemed like to close your eyes and let out a big sigh. Was that for just maybe the day and how long it was or was there something more into that?
RYAN MOORE: That was for like five years. That's actually about four years. But, yeah, that was five years worth of exhaustion that feels like at times just kind of letting it out.
No. It felt great. Actually to make that putt felt that much better to not just lag it up there and tap it in, to actually step up and make that birdie. That was really just fun so, yeah.

Q. Stadler described the 18th hole as a "nightmare". And you had two different experiences on it today, obviously on the 72 hole and in the playoff. What's your perception of that hole?
RYAN MOORE: It's a tough golf hole. I'm not going to lie. It's not my favorite golf hole in the world but, you know, it's funny, I was riding in the cart with the rules official back out to the 18th tee, I was kind of telling him that, jokingly in the cart and -- but then I told him, "You know what, for right now it's my favorite golf hole in the world and I'm going to love it and go and do whatever I can to bury this thing."
A hole is a hole. It's got a tee box and green and try to navigate what you can between the tee and the green.
I was fortunate enough to hit it in the fairway both times which I hadn't really done the first few rounds so I have no idea how I did that. It just went down the middle and that was great.

Q. Was that Mark Russell?
RYAN MOORE: No, it was -- oh, gosh. I'm terrible with names. I'm not going to remember right now. It wasn't Mark.
DOUG MILNE: Real quick, if you don't mind, if you would just run through your birdies.
You got on a great stretch there on the back, five in a row. If you would just take us through and give us some clubs on the front.
You birdied 3, 5 and 8. If could you just walk us through those and then we'll run through the back real quick.
RYAN MOORE: 3, the par 3. I was playing I think it was 173 or 174. I hit a 7 iron. Hit just a really solid shot in there. Just right about maybe four, five feet and knocked that one in.
5, par 5. Yeah. Had about 200 yards on my second shot. Actually ripped a 5-iron over the green which I have no idea how it went over the green. I had actually a pretty tricky little chip and was able to chip that to about four feet and made the putt.
And 8, the one I kind of described earlier. I just hit 3-wood off the tee there and I think I had 84 yards to the pin, left it about 18 feet short and just knocked it right in there.
DOUG MILNE: Then your five in a row, 12 through 16.
RYAN MOORE: Starting at 12. I hit a good shots, good iron shots into really, you know 9, 10 and 11 and hadn't made a putt but I just had some good positive feelings and I was hitting good shots.
I stepped up on 12 there and just made a really good swing and knocked it to about eight feet. Actually Chez Reavie in my group flew his ball into the hole and popped back out for a hole-in-one.
Went down in and popped out and went all the way off the green about 20 yards. He had damaged kind of the back left corner of the, cup which he fixed as well as he could.
So my putt was right to left putt and I hit my putt and it was eight, ten feet or so. And I looked up and it was high. I thought it was high the whole way and all of a sudden like the last second it just like dove into the hole and it actually had hit like his pitch mark and swung into the hole which was amazing and he looked over at me and said, "You're welcome." I said, "Thanks, I appreciate it."
And then 13, was -- did I say that was an 8 iron on 12 from 165 or 6 I want to say?
My caddy nodded in the back in agreement. Yes. That was it. Hit a 3-wood on 13 to, gosh, I had 148 and a little uphill, little back into the wind and kind of hit a little cutoff kind of punch 8 iron in there which was a really solid to about three and a half feet. Was able to knock that one in there.
Next hole, 14, actually birdied that twice today. That's a pretty good birdie. I hit 3-wood this time, just such a tee shot especially for someone who fades the ball like me. I hit 3-wood just to kind of make sure to get it in the fairway. I hit 6 iron from 195 or so, something like that. Maybe it was like 185 or 6. I don't know, something, and ended up going about -- right in the middle of the green about 25 feet past or so and just hit a really, really good putt there, just kind of a little subtle double breaker and read it right and great speed and knocked it right in the middle.
15, the par 5. I ripped a drive there. Had 235 in and -- maybe 240 to the pin. No, 235. I hit an 18-degree hybrid. It was probably my best shot of the day. Hit it back there to -- it was really tucked right pin, little breeze back in and just cut a great hybrid in there to must have been about 12 feet, 12, 13 feet. Wasn't very far for eagle.
I hit just a phenomenal putt there. I was actually aiming -- I fixed a pitch mark and I was aiming at it I had to go right over. I went right over it and boom, popped it over in the right and lipped out on the right he edge. It was my fault. I was aiming at it. But I ended up lipping that out and tapping in for birdie.
At that point in time I really thought I had to make that one and made me at least one more, maybe two more birdies coming in, you know, to get to 18 or 19, just to have a chance.
So that was a little bit deflating to miss that one but go to the next hole, 15, which was playing like 158 which is actually crazy because I hit the most unusually large amount of 8 irons this week.
I have no idea why this golf course set-up that way but I swear I hit 8 iron at least half the time every round. I would say at least eight to ten approach shots each round was an 8 iron. I have no idea how but it was. I don't know, because of the wind or whatever else, it ended up being an 8 iron.
It was just an ongoing joke with me and my caddy every time. "Oh, 8 iron." "Yeah, another 8 iron. How about that? Who would have thought?"
Of course, we go over that one another 8 iron. It was playing I think 154 or 5, but there was a little breeze, little downhill but it was -- the greens are soft there.
I didn't want to try and hit a full 9 iron spinning in there and have it come up short so I kind of try to hit the same shot I had hit on 13, just a little punch and just barely caught the top of the ridge, fortunately, and spun back down and rolled to three, three and a half feet or so, and was able to knock that one in there.
Then on the last playoff hole, I guess I hit driver and hit a 6 iron from -- I have no idea how far it was there. How far was it? He's not even paying attention. J.D., how far was it into 18?
J.D.: Which time? There were like five of them.
RYAN MOORE: The final time. Like 90, 85? It was exactly 80, wasn't it?
J.D: Yeah, 180.
RYAN MOORE: The first playoff hole, of course, I hit an 8 iron. I couldn't believe it. I was just like destined to win this one if I hit an 8 iron again. I'm so comfortable with this club right now, I don't even know what to do. Hit a good 6 iron in there, little thin but it worked, it worked wonderfully.
DOUG MILNE: Ryan Moore, 2009 Wyndham Championship winner. Congratulations. Thanks for stopping by. Best of luck this week.
RYAN MOORE: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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