Puyallup’s Ryan Moore clinches Ryder Cup for US
Ryan Moore of Puyallup clinched the winning point for the United States in a 17-11 victory over Europe to cap the Americans’ biggest rout in 35 years at the Ryder Cup on a Sunday afternoon.
Moore’s come-from-behind, 1-up victory over Lee Westwood gave the cup back to this side of the Atlantic for the first time since 2008.
But clearly the Cascade Christian product was in awe of the moment and the way the final week unlikely transpired.
“I have no words right now,” Moore said minutes after the win. “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, it’s pretty amazing.”
The twelve singles matches on Sunday began brilliantly for the U.S. who entered with a 3-point lead and extended it when Patrick Reed upset Europe’s Rory McIlroy in the first match, setting the tone for an American coronation.
At the end of the day, the U.S. won 7 1/2 of a possible 12 points thanks to victories such as Rickie Fowler’s 1-up upset over Justin Rose and Moore’s 1-up victory over the veteran Westwood. Brooks Koepka dispatched Masters champion Danny Willet, 5 and 4.
In fact, Westwood led Moore 2-up with only three holes to play and Moore promptly shot 3-under with an eagle on hole No. 16, a birdie on 17, and a par on 18. As Moore finished his match, he wasn’t even aware that his win would clinch the whole event.
“I had no idea,” Moore said. “I was just trying to get points on the board, that was all I was doing.”
Mission accomplished.
Moore’s father, Mike, watched from just off the 18th green as his son was mauled by teammates, hugged by captain Davis Love III, and was even kissed on the cheek and told ‘I love you’ from vice captain Bubba Watson.
“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,” Mike Moore said. “He loves golf so much, he’s passionate about it. It’s what he does for a living and it showed how good he is today.
“It was a thrill for us to watch him play. He delivered on some clutch shots when he needed to.”
Moore went 2-1 for the week in his first Ryder Cup appearance and really enjoyed the camaraderie of his team, especially as they celebrated their winning moment together on the 18th green.
“There’s nothing like it, to be able to win but win for your country and for your team and your captains,” Moore said. “There’s so much more to it than week in and week out what we do on Tour. It’s been a blast and I’m just proud to be on this team.”
Fellow teammate Brandt Snedeker was proud of Moore, and made that apparent during the team press conference afterward.
As Moore answered a question, Snedeker interrupted and said, “You’re only as good as your 12th man and there he is right there.”
Indeed, Moore was the final man on the team, being added to the team on Sept. 25. And now that he’s tasted one Ryder Cup, he’s aspiring to some lofty goals with this event moving forward.
“It’s something I want to be a part of every single year,” Moore said. “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 just loving it and it was incredible.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Puyallup’s Ryan Moore clinches Ryder Cup for US."