The Loop

Ryan Moore and the fitting end to his Ryder Cup bid

September 27, 2016
Ryan-Moore-Ryder-Cup.jpg

Getty Images

CHASKA, Minn. -- Ryan Moore had been through uniform fittings ahead of every Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup for about the past 10 years. Except for this year.   “I'm not going to do it from now on,” the fourth and final U.S. captain’s pick said Tuesday from Hazeltine National Golf Club. “Ever.”   Despite a stellar amateur career that included a U.S. Amateur title, the U.S. Amateur Public Links, an NCAA individual title and appearances in the Walker Cup, Palmer Cup and Eisenhower Trophy, Moore had never gotten the tap for a team competition in his career as a professional. Even with five career wins and a stellar short game he never qualified for a team and was always on the outside when it came to captain’s picks.   Until this year, that is. Moore’s performance last Sunday in the final round of the Tour Championship, where he went toe-to-toe with Rory McIlroy before losing on the fourth hole of sudden death, combined with his play the last two months, sealed it.   Still, Moore wasn’t sure if it was enough until he finally got the call from U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, which came about 45 minutes after his runner-up finish at East Lake. And when Love did call, he actually missed it.   “I called him right back, and obviously I could tell right away it was a positive conversation,” Moore said. “It was an amazing phone call to get. It's been a crazy 48 hours ever since then, really.”   It started with Moore flying home to Las Vegas. He got to his house around 11 p.m. local time Sunday night, slept until 4:30 a.m. and was on a plane headed to Minnesota at 9:30 a.m.   Once at Hazeltine, Moore hung with his teammates, sitting next to Zach Johnson and across from Jimmy Walker at dinner Monday night and practicing Tuesday with J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka.

RELATED: How He Hit That: Ryan Moore's inside-out approach shots   “I'm comfortable with the formats and understand how [a team event] works, but still until you've experienced [the Ryder Cup], there's nothing quite like it,” Moore said. “But I've gotten great advice from guys on how to treat the week and how to go about it.”   He’s just happy to be inside the ropes this time.   “I've watched probably all of them, or at least a little bit of them here and there,” Moore said of those past Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups he got fitted for but never played in. “It's something I've always enjoyed watching. I've wanted to be a part of one of these events. I was beginning to think it might not happen.”