The Tarheel Tour Interview with Jonathan Moore

The Tarheel Tour recently conducted a short interview with tour rookie Jonathan Moore. Moore, a native of Vancouver, Washington, and a former NCAA Individual Champion for Oklahoma State University, is currently 20th on the Tarheel Tour money list in just five events played. He recorded his first professional victory in his third start on the Tarheel Tour in a playoff at the Walnut Creek Classic. Jonathan was also a member of the victorious United States Walker Cup team in 2007, where he earned the clinching point of the matches. He turned professional shortly thereafter.

Jonathan, thanks for joining us.

Jonathan Moore: Sure, no problem, I’m looking forward to it.

When you turned professional towards the end of last year, what prompted you and your support group to decide to play on the Tarheel Tour?

Jonathan Moore: Well, I heard a lot of good things about the tour via word of mouth from some older, more experienced players that I am good friends with. Most of them had spent significant time on a lot of mini tours including the Tarheel Tour and they told me that the Tarheel Tour always plays very good golf courses and the competition was quite strong. It is really a good place to test your game over an entire year to get better to give yourself a chance to move up to the Nationwide or PGA Tour. Another factor for me was the weekly set up for the tour. I knew at the beginning of the season that I was going to be a player that wanted to chase a lot of Nationwide and PGA Tour Monday qualifiers. With the setup of the Tarheel Tour events typically running from Wednesday to Friday, if I want to play a Monday qualifier, I always have plenty of time to get to the qualifier site, and if I don’t make it through the qualifier, then I can hop on a plane and get to the Charlotte Airport, and make it to the Tarheel Tour site in plenty of time for the first day. I might miss a practice round, but that’s it. The Tarheel Tour really fit nicely into the rest of my schedule.

What have you found to like about the tour that you weren't necessarily expecting?

Jonathan Moore: I knew that the competition out here was pretty good, but it’s even stronger than I was expecting. You really have to play your best golf almost every week if you expect to win or have a chance to win down the stretch. Also, the quality of golf courses out here is really good for a player’s game.

What did the win at Walnut Creek mean to you being your first professional victory?

Jonathan Moore: It was really exciting. It was a nice little shootout between me and Kyle Gallo and Michael Sims, two guys who have spent some time on the Nationwide Tour. I really learned that week that I was going to have to play pretty clutch golf down the stretch if I was going to win out here. It gives me a lot of confidence when you know you have to play well and you were able to get it done. It’s nice to realize that you’re good enough to win at this level.

Yes, it certainly was an exciting event. I think I recall you birdeing 17, then you and Gallo birdied 18 forcing a playoff, and then you holed a birdie putt on the first playoff hole for the victory. It certainly was a great way to grab your first win.
Moving on, Jonathan, we certainly are hoping and expecting you to get through qualifying school this fall. Tell us about your plans for Qualifying School and what you plan on doing next year if you don’t successfully make it through PGA Tour Qualifying School.

Jonathan Moore: Well, I’m planning on playing the final four Tarheel events this year, and then I have signed up for the First Stage of Q-School at Treyburn in Durham, NC. I think playing there; I’ll be playing against a lot of the same guys that I play against on a weekly basis on the Tarheel Tour. I signed up for second stage at Deerwood in Houston, TX. I’ve heard a lot of good things about that golf course and I understand it to be a very fair test. As for next season, obviously I hope to get through the qualifying school, but if that doesn’t work, I think it’ll be more of the same from this season. I’ve really enjoyed playing the Tarheel Tour this year, and I’ve heard a lot of good things about some of the events that I didn’t play this year on the tour. I’ll probably try to play more of those events next year along with the ones that I played this year.

What have you taken from your great amateur success in the Walker Cup, NCAA Championship, and playing in the U.S. Open, Hilton Head, and other PGA Tour events?

Jonathan Moore: I’ve gotten to be really good friends with Lee Janzen over that past couple of years. I played practice rounds with Lee in almost all of the PGA Tour events that I have played including Hilton Head. I’ve been able to study how the top players carry themselves, and deal with everything that is involved mentally and physically with the game. All the guys who play the tour week to week really seem to know their game as well as one can. As for the college and amateur success that I had, I have really learned what it takes to win at each level. I was able to win in junior golf, and then I was able to win in some big amateur events, as well as winning in college. Now, on the Tarheel Tour, I have been able to win on a very strong developmental professional tour. Obviously, it’s a process, but I think if you can learn to become one of the better players at every level, you will eventually get where you want to go, which for most of us, is the PGA Tour. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed my first full year of professional golf. A lot of top players think that it’s a negative to have to play developmental golf, but I’ve really enjoyed all of it. I’ve been able to play in a few PGA and Nationwide Tour events, chase a lot of Monday Qualifiers, as well as play on a developmental tour like the Tarheel Tour, and get a win. I’d obviously like to get the PGA Tour as soon as I can, but it’s really no huge rush for me. Eventually, I’ll get where I want to be and I should be much better prepared because of it.

That’s great stuff Jonathan. We certainly think you’ll get to where you want as well. Thanks for your time and we look forward to seeing you in the closing stretch of the Tarheel Tour.

Jonathan Moore: Sure, no problem. I’ll see you next week at Charlotte National.