During a whirlwind week at the Ryder Cup in suburban Minneapolis, Ryan Moore delivered the final blow to Europe when he defeated Lee Westwood in singles, 1 up, to give the U.S. its winning point and first victory in eight years.
The last man invited to the U.S. squad by captain Davis Love III, Moore arrived at Hazeltine National Golf Club on Monday afternoon of Ryder Cup week after flying his family home to Las Vegas from the Tour Championship in Atlanta the night before. When asked on the final practice day what would constitute a successful first Ryder Cup for him, he quickly said: “Winning the cup, period.”
No one knew at that moment that he would be the one delivering the honors 72 hours later. To see Moore deliver in the pressure cooker of an atmosphere was special for caddie J.J. Jakovac as well.
“This week doesn’t compare to any other tournament that I’ve been too, and it’s really, really, cool,” Jakovac said. “The energy and camaraderie is really amazing.”
For Moore’s father, Mike, it was special in several ways.
“When you have kids you always like to see them embrace and love what they do and succeed at it and it’s a thrill for me,” the elder Moore said. “(Ryan) loves golf so much; he’s passionate about it. It’s what he does for a living and it showed this week. What a wonderful experience.”
The event even exceeded Moore’s expectations.
“It’s everything and more,” he said. “You just can’t imagine the course and the fans and what it’s like out here.”
Moore played 36 practice holes at Hazeltine before teaming with J.B. Holmes on Friday and Saturday to go 1-1 in fourball matches. Moore’s singles victory over Westwood put him at 2-1 for the week.
During a break in the U.S. celebration, Moore took time to talk with Southland Golf about his overall experience:
Q: Did you realize that your match was to win the Ryder Cup … that the U.S. was at 14 points and needed at least a half point to get to the winning number?
No. I just wanted to play some respectable golf over the last few holes and make Lee have to do something amazing. So I was fortunate to have played well and caught him late; to win the match was just really special.
Q: You delivered for the team and made the winning point. How does it feel?
It was incredible to be where I was a week ago, and then to go on to win the last point for the Ryder Cup is pretty amazing. It’s something I want to be a part of every single year. I love my teammates, I love my captain, and we had such a great time this week. It was such an amazing atmosphere and the crowd was incredible. It’s a goal of mine from this point forward to be part of it every year.
Q: How did a Ryder Cup week compare to other weeks of the tour season?
It’s such a different feeling from what we do week in and week out on tour. To do it for my teammates, for my captains, for everybody who picked me, who wanted me to be on the team; you know, I had all of that on my shoulders and I said, ‘All right, I’m going to try and get points somehow today.’ You know, for that to actually work out was pretty incredible, and for that to actually be the point that clinched this beautiful Ryder Cup is incredible.
Q: Does it feel surreal now that you’ve won?
There’s nothing like it. To be able to win, but win for your country and for your team and your captains … it’s been a blast and I’m just proud to be on this team.
Q: How do you explain the last seven days from being picked to making the winning point?
It’s hard to explain at this point. Just to be a part of this team, obviously I was a bit of a late entry, but everybody made me feel like I was a part of it right away. And to end up being the one who clinched the Cup for this team is just very special.
Q: How would you sum up the week?
This has been an incredible week; everything went well. It’s been so much fun playing with all of my teammates and getting to hang out and become friends with all of these guys. I just have no words to describe it.
