An Interview With PGA Tour’s Ryan Moore

Every so often I have the opportunity to correspond with a PGA Tour player and pick their brain regarding current events in professional golf and the status of the Tour. This week’s guest is Ryan Moore, who over the past few seasons has certainly made a name for himself both on Tour and in professional golf on a global scale.

Ryan and I had the opportunity to discuss his thoughts on “the youth movement” on Tour, the Official World Golf Rankings, the status of American golf and his reasoning behind finally choosing to play under an endorsing sponsor.

Adam: At the Wells Fargo Championship, the PGA Tour saw another first-time winner in Rickie Fowler at the Wells Fargo Championship. In 2009, you won your first event at the Wyndham Championship. What would you say is the most difficult aspect of capturing that first win on Tour

Ryan: For me it was the patience and knowing in the belief that it is going to happen. Just continually telling yourself that it is possible. You lose more often in golf, so you have to keep that positive belief in yourself.

As more and more young talent, such as yourself, continue to make a name for themselves on Tour, American golf fans can only hope that one of these new names will “carry the torch” for American golf into the next decade and beyond. What is your opinion on the status of American golf right now?
American golf is in a lot of ways, highly underrated. With Tiger winning so often, that isn’t normal. We have several young players who have won and are making a name for themselves. I think it is in a great place.

New players on Tour are highly-marketable in a variety of ways. In September 2011 you signed your first corporate endorsement deal with Shift4, whose logo we now see on your golf shirts. For the longest time you played without any major endorsements. Why make the change now, and do you feel a player can thrive on TOUR without endorsement contracts?
Well for the first 3 years on tour I had a sponsor with Ping and Oakley. I then went a year in a half without sponsor until I found the right people and company in Shift 4. They are my first corporate sponsorship. They are great people and a great family based company, as evident by their Birdies for Shriners campaign that we have teamed up to give back to charity.

You have had some strong finishes in the majors over the years, including a tie for 9th at the 2006 PGA Championship, a T-10 at the 2009 US Open, and a top-15 finish at the 2005 Masters. Which major does your game translate to the best?

I like majors in general. I like tougher golf and par as a great score, which is more common in the majors. So they all set up well to my liking.

Which would please you more in terms of career aspirations: winning a major, or being on a victorious US Ryder Cup team?
Winning a major(s).

Ok Ryan, last question, and thank you so much for your time: As of the time of this writing, you are currently-ranked 69th in the Official World Golf Rankings. What are your thoughts on the ranking system as a whole? Do you feel it is accurate? How would you change it if you could?

It’s simple in golf, winning golf tournaments takes care of your ranking. In this case I would say the rankings are fairly accurate.

Many thanks to Ryan Moore for taking the time to look over and answer these questions amid his busy touring schedule.