Is Ryan Moore the next Tiger?
The comparisons are being made now that Moore has secured his card without going to Q School—the first to do so since Tiger.
Of course, Woods won in his fifth start, so maybe the comparisons are a bit overwrought.
But Moore did have arguably the best year as an amateur since Bobby Jones.
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It doesn’t seem to me that Ryan Moore wants to be the next Tiger Woods. I think he would like to be Ryan Moore, the new young PGA member who has been achieving his goals one stroke, one round, one event at a time. He had a great collegiate and amateur career. His gift for the game and his love of competing and winning at the highest level were shown to the golf world by his unmatched amateur record in 2004. His transition from top amateur and collegiate player to professional golfer this year, while not as dramatic as Tiger’s, is still quite a remarkable feat, another goal achieved. He has proven himself to be a champion and plays every event to win. What’s so unusual about that? Doesn’t every professional golfer play to win? Yet a recent article said that Ryan may rub some on the tour the wrong way, that he seems to straddle the line between confidence and cockiness. Anyone who thinks he is cocky clearly does not know Ryan or understand him. The only ones who may be “rubbed the wrong way” by his remarkable success are perhaps a few of those on or off the PGA tour who are a bit stunned to see how quickly he has passed them by in the first ten events he has played as a pro. They must lack confidence or don’t appreciate it when confronted by it. Most pros are complementary about him and wish him well. The best reason to watch Ryan Moore is because he is a pleasant well-grounded young man who has worked hard to achieve the lofty goals he has set for himself. He is confident because he believes in himself and knows what it takes to be a real champion, as proven by his remarkable golf career to date. No matter what course he plays or who he is playing with, Ryan knows he can compete and win. The larger the event and the greater the crowds, the more fun he has. He makes a good living as a young pro at age 22, but never assume that it was drives him on. He wants to play his best and believes he can win any event he plays against any field of golfers. And that breeds confidence and will lead to many tour victories. He handles disappointment well, adjusts his game and plays better. There are many good golfers, but far fewer real champions. While others are afraid to lose an event, Ryan is not afraid to win. In these ways, he is like Tiger Woods.
Ryan is very mindful of golf’s rich history and it’s great champions. He has his favorites, too. While he greatly admires many of the PGA pros, he is not intimidated while playing with any of them. With the support of his close family and growing number of fans, watch him take his own un-textbook swing, using his “feel” instead of consulting a course yardage book and mature into a great champion on the PGA tour (It is one of his goals, and we have seen how he reaches his goals!). I can’t wait to see Tiger and Ryan in the final pairing on Sunday at the Masters (or any other event). Confident? Yes. Cocky? No. Believe it or not, I’ll put my money on Ryan.