Professional golfer Ryan Moore’s primary focus hasn’t changed: He’s still hoping to land the big prize – a PGA Tour victory – as he enters his fourth full professional season.
That season starts Wednesday at the five-round Bob Hope Classic in the Palm Springs, Calif., area.
That doesn’t mean Moore won’t settle for netting a few smaller catches along the way.
Last summer, the Puyallup pro picked up a new hobby – fishing – as a way to relax and unwind from tournament play.
“I’m not good at it at all,” he said. “It’s fun.”
It started out as a casual activity when Troy Denton, his caddie and best friend, visited Moore during off weeks. Moore had purchased a boat, and the two took it out on American Lake.
Denton suggested the two try fishing, and it grew from there, especially during the PGA Tour’s “Fall Series.”
A New York-area entrepreneur owns a privately stocked lake near Atunyote Golf Club in Verona, N.Y., site of the Turning Stone Resort Championship, where a few of the tour golfers camped out and fished.
That week, including tournament days, Moore and Denton joined them.
“I really got into it in New York,” Moore said.
A week later, Moore hosted the BMW Northwest Charity Skins Game at Chambers Bay. Included in the field were close friends Aaron Baddeley and Bubba Watson, whom Moore took out to American Lake for some fishing. The experience aired on the weekly “Inside the PGA Tour” television show.
At the season-ending event near Orlando, Fla., Moore went out a couple of more times.
He claims he has “very, very minimal knowledge” of how to fish successfully, but added the sport is “like golf … because you use different styles for different fishing all over the country.”
Moore even tested his new hobby in international waters.
Jason Moore, Ryan’s younger brother and sometimes caddie, had been studying at Hillsong International Leadership College in Sydney, Australia, for a year. He graduated in December.
Ryan Moore went to Australia and treated his brother and friends to a four-day vacation. They snorkeled, they hiked in the rain forest and, yes, fished on the Great Barrier Reef where there are more than 1,500 different of fish species.
Moore said he hauled in four fish in the 30- to 40-pound range.
“They were big fish,” he said. “It took a good five minutes to bring them in.”
That’s not to say Moore entirely ignored golf during the offseason. But he did have a stretch during which he didn’t touch a club for a month, particularly when the snowstorm hit Western Washington.
By late December, he was back at his new home near Phoenix practicing and getting ready for the 2009 PGA Tour season.
“He’s strong. He’s been able to practice aggressively – pounding balls in the sand for 11/2 hours, being at the driving range for a couple hours and playing 18 holes after that,” said Mike Moore, Ryan’s father and coach. “He is able to go at it six or seven hours a day without discomfort (in his left wrist), and he’s been able to get back to the technique that enabled him to accomplish some pretty great things.”
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442
TOURNEYS TO WATCH
Byron Nelson Championship, May 21-24
TPC Four Seasons Resort, Irving, Texas. Difficult courses and world-class fields seem to bring out the best in Moore, who almost made it his first career win last year before fellow UNLV alum Adam Scott made a 48-foot birdie putt in sudden death.
The Memorial Tournament, June 4-7
Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio. Other than the Las Vegas stop (the Justin Timberlake tournament last season), this is the only regular PGA Tour event where Moore has made every cut (3-for-3). He tied for 10th last year after finishing second in 2007.
U.S. Open, June 18-21
Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, N.Y. Majors are every golfer’s goal, but qualifying for Bethpage Black – where Moore played his first PGA Tour event in 2002 as an amateur – would be special. The only time he’s made the cut at the national championship was 2005 at Pinehurst No. 2.
AT&T National, July 2-5
Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Md. It’s Tiger Woods’ tourney, and it’s played on one of the country’s classic courses. Moore was in contention in 2007 after a third-round 66 before finishing tied for 25th. Congressional hosts the 2010 U.S. Open.
PGA Championship, Aug-13-16
Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minn. The season’s final major owes Moore better luck. He shot rounds of 79 in each of the past two PGA Championships, and missed the cut both times. Hazeltine is a bomber’s paradise, stretching to 7,700 yards.
Todd Milles, The News Tribune RYAN MOORE PROFILE
Hometown: Puyallup.
Age: 26.
High school: Cascade Christian.
College: UNLV.
Turned professional: 2005.
Career earnings (2008): $4,578,169 ($1,214,900).
Career cuts made (2008): 54 of 91 (12 of 24).
Best PGA Tour finishes: Second at four events: 2005 Canadian Open, 2006 Buick Championship, 2007 Memorial Tournament and 2008 Byron Nelson Championship (lost playoff to Adam Scott).
Best finish at a major: Tie for ninth at 2006 PGA Championship.
World ranking entering 2009: 163rd.
Coach: Mike Moore.
Caddies: Troy Denton and Jason Moore.
Management: Moore Golf Management.
In the bag: Ping Rapture driver, Ping S59 irons, Titleist Vokey wedges and Callaway Tour i ball. Because his contract with Ping expired at the end of 2008, Moore has been experimenting with other clubs (including his putter) and has not yet decided what he’ll use.
Endorsements: Callaway, Jobvana.com and Rolex.
Todd Milles, The News Tribune
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