Columnist Victoria Sun: Moore’s U.S. Open trip was full of life lessons

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, June 19, 2002 | 9:23 a.m.

Victoria Sun is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. She can be reached at victoria@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4078.

Ryan Moore hoped his first trip to New York would have ended where it all began, at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Instead, his journey concluded with subways rides, walks around Manhattan and a sampling of tasty street vendor hot dogs.

Like most of the other 156 entrants in this year's U.S. Open, Moore was unable to tame the 7,295-yard course (the longest in Open history) ending his professional debut, albeit as an amateur, two days early.

Moore struggled in rounds of 76 and 79, a total 15-over par, to miss the cut by five strokes.

Even so, the 19-year-old UNLV golfer has plenty of good memories to last a lifetime.

"It was just exciting," Moore said Tuesday via cell phone during the last leg of an 18-hour drive from Las Vegas to his home to Puyallup, Wash. "Just the whole treatment you get is pretty amazing.

"They walk you around and show you everything. You practice and play whenever you want. It was a lot of fun."

During his practice rounds, Moore got a chance to play with PGA Tour professionals Kenny Perry, Kirk Triplett, Brent Geiberger and Jose Coceres.

Not wanting to sound like a 5-year-old, Moore kept the questions to a minimum.

"They were all really nice guys," Moore said. "They just told me to have fun and enjoy your time here.

"Triplett was probably the most encouraging. He was just giving me advice about anything and everything. He was talking to me about how everything is out there on tour.

"I was just kind of there soaking it up, letting them talk. I tried to just played along like I was one of the guys."

Then came time for him to play his first round.

There were more than 1,000 people in the gallery watching his every move even before he swung his first club.

Although he thrives off playing in front of large crowds, when the announcer finally called his name, his nervousness increased.

"I was kind of in awe," Moore said. "I still couldn't really believe I was there.

"As soon as they announced my name, I was like, 'OK, I'm here. I belong here.' "

He was so nervous that he was surprised his hands remained steady when he hit his drive.

"It wasn't that bad, my first round," Moore said. "I started out pretty solid.

"I actually hit my driver perfect, right down the middle. I was pretty amazed, being as nervous as I was."

Things looked good early after he made solid putts on the first two holes, and he even recovered from a triple-bogey on the third hole with a birdie on No. 4.

But he couldn't overcome a blown 4-foot birdie putt on No. 11 to finish strong.

"I actually played really, really solid for eight or nine holes until the end when I ended up making little mistakes," Moore said. "I got it up and down from 135 yards on the 10th hole for par.

"So that was pretty good to keep my momentum going."

It ended when Moore said he barely touched a ball that sat four feet away from the hole. It rolled all the way off the green into the fairway.

"That was deflating," he said.

When the first round ended, Moore knew he had to shoot a low number to make the cut.

A severe rainstorm prevented that from happening as the damp conditions lengthened the course even more.

"The balls wouldn't roll in the fairway," he said.

"I had to start out on the backside and the first hole is 492 yards into the wind. With it being wet, I didn't even get the ball to the fairway.

"I had a tough start and I could never get it going. The rough is absolutely brutal."

By qualifying for the U.S. Open, Moore earned exemptions into the U.S. Amateur and next month's Publinx tournament.