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WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

February 25, 2011

Ryan Moore

MARANA, ARIZONA

LAURA HILL: We'd like to welcome Ryan Moore. It took a little extra time out there today but you survived. And only your second Accenture Match Play Championship appearance. Now you're in the quarterfinals. Talk about today.
RYAN MOORE: Oh, man, I'm exhausted. It was one of those matches really nobody should have lost. We both played great all day long. It was just back and forth. I think the biggest lead, I finally got it to 2-up through 16.
But besides that there was no more than a 1-up lead all day. It was back and forth. And we weren't giving it away with bogeys; it was all birdies.
Coming down 17, 18, I kind of left the door open for him, and he birdied 17 and 18 to get it back to even. I was fortunate to hit a good second shot in there to 1. He just missed his putt a little short and I was able to make my 12 to 15-footer, whatever it was.
It sure sounded a lot more simple than it was.

Q. The yardage and whatnot on the first extra hole were what?
RYAN MOORE: I was 154 and hit a 9-iron. I was back into a pretty good breeze at that point and hit it in there. I hit it a little left of the hole, which wasn't exactly what I was trying to do, but it worked out.

Q. The year you won the U.S. Am, sort of that Amateur Grand Slam as everybody was calling it at that time, I think does the Western Am have a match play component to it, as well? So two of the four?
RYAN MOORE: Pub Links, as well.

Q. So that would make you feel pretty good about your match play prowess, I would think?
RYAN MOORE: I enjoy match play, but it's not like we get to do it all the time these days. I'm a little rusty. There's just a different feel to it. I think I enjoy it because it's right there in front of you. There's not 155 other guys out there playing. It's that guy and you know what it takes. On either that given hole or that day, it's right there and it's a matter of can you step up and do it. Fortunately, I've been able to do it so far.

Q. On that second shot on the extra hole, what did you hear on the backswing?
RYAN MOORE: I was really close to the ropes over there, and it was a volunteer right as I started my backswing, he lifted his arms up, right in the middle of my swing. And he was literally five feet behind me, right perfectly in my view. That stuff doesn't happen to me very often, so he got me pretty good. I don't normally notice that kind of stuff. I asked him to either keep them up or keep them down, either way, just don't move.

Q. Is that a weird -- did you have to go back through your pre-shot routine again? It seems like the perfectly wrong time for that to happen.
RYAN MOORE: Yeah, it's not exactly ideal in that situation. You've got a tucked pin back into the breeze. I was blind where I was hitting from, the bushes were blocking my view. I just kind of regrouped. It was still the same wind and I knew the club was perfect, it was just a matter of executing the shot. And I hit it solid and it worked out really well.

Q. You sort of have this iconoclastic way about you, a man and his golf, doing what's good for you and your golf. Does rising this high in a tournament this big change any of that for you?
RYAN MOORE: I don't think so, I don't know. It's the first time I've done this in this -- I've reached this far into this tournament. But I don't think it's going to change a whole lot about how I approach anything. Because how I've approached things is how I've gotten to this point. It keeps getting me there, so I don't need to be changing anything too crazy.

Q. Any pucker factor at all when you're 2-up with 2 to go and the guy throws two birdies at you, and you're wondering if you're going to get out of there with your hide?
RYAN MOORE: Yeah, obviously that's a bad time to lose momentum is on the 17th and 18th holes. Those holes aren't easy holes. And he hit two great shots, he hit it into about 8 on 17 and into about 5, 6 feet on 18. He wasn't exactly giving me birdies. And I didn't make par on 17, but he was going to make that. I had par in the bag on 18, and he made the putt.
So I think that was kind of the story of the whole match was -- we didn't give any holes away, all day long. It was just like, if you want to win a hole you've got to make a birdie and we both made quite a few of them. But, no, that's not ideal to lose that momentum going into that first playoff hole. And obviously he's feeling pretty good. I was just fortunate to edge him out.

Q. Is this tournament fun or is it more nerve wracking, and is it more fun or nerve wracking than a regular stroke play event when you're in contention?
RYAN MOORE: It's really stressful. I think it's more fun. I really do enjoy match play. I enjoy just the different aspect of it. It's that day that you're focused on, it's not a marathon, necessarily. It's more of a sprint. It's get out there and kind of get it done that day. And, you know, a guy can lose a shot to go 7-under, or win shooting four or five over, you never know. And I think that's what's fun and interesting about it. But it definitely can be a little bit stressful, playing as well as I did and still going into extra holes. I think I was seven or eight under for the day. And you do that and then you still have to go into extra holes, that's -- that can be a little stressful.

Q. We've seen young players Day, Fowler, Manassero playing well into this tournament. As a guy who had so much success as a young player, as an amateur, can you talk about how difficult it is, and I guess how interesting it is that these guys are actually playing so well at a young age?
RYAN MOORE: It's not surprising. They're all phenomenal natural golfers. I've played with Jason a lot. I've played with Rickie a lot. I haven't played with Manassero yet, but I've seen him. And it's impressive what he does for the age that he is. It's not surprising. I think we grow up around it so much and you're watching it and you just want to be there and you want to get in the mix.
It's impressive that they've played as well as they have to get in these tournaments this young an age. And once they're there, they're certainly not afraid to go win some matches.

Q. Since you turned pro, can you tell me about trying to find the right clubs to play or the brand of clubs to play, because you're Adams now. Before -- for a while you were playing a mixed bag, right?
RYAN MOORE: Yeah, I have been the last couple of years. A couple of years ago, I had no sponsors and played whatever I felt like. At that time when I was playing whatever I felt like, I was using an Adams driver and an Adams fairway wood and an Adams hybrid. So really the last few years I've been playing that equipment, and it was just a really natural fit. We had kind of tried to align it a couple of times and both had bad timing. It just didn't work out. Finally we had good timing this time.

Q. Are there tie companies or vest companies?
RYAN MOORE: No, not yet. I'm waiting for that tie company to come sponsor me, but they haven't surfaced.

Q. Can you give us a better sense of what that stress is like for you, what's it feel like, and how do you manage that?
RYAN MOORE: Well, it's stressful, but it's a different kind of stress. Like I said, you know what you have to do. And it's just a matter of getting in there and getting it done. And I'm on that 19th hole and I have a 15-footer and he's already missed his putt. I can win, right there. It's very simple. And it's just a matter of can you just step up and do it. And I like it that aspect. I like it. It's stressful in a way, but at the same time it's a little bit not because you don't have 15 other guys out on the golf course making birdie up on you sneaking up on your lead. This is the shot right here. And I think for me it helps me to focus even more and just know and give myself 100 percent on each shot.
LAURA HILL: Thanks so much. Good luck this weekend.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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