Moore, Ureta, List headline 2008 Tarheel Tour Rookie Class

jonathan_moore

Charlotte, NC – 2006 NCAA Individual Champion Jonathan Moore of Vancouver, WA will lead a group of fresh faces onto the Tarheel Tour scene in 2008. Moore, 22, decided in September to forgo his final two seasons of eligibility at Oklahoma State and turn professional. In 2006, as a red-shirt freshman, Moore claimed the individual title at the NCAA Championships and led his Cowboys to the team title as well. Moore was a member of the 2006 United States World Amateur team and was the unquestioned hero of the United States team in the 2007 Walker Cup Matches at Royal County Down in Ireland. He was 3-0 for the week and clinched the Cup with an eagle on the 18th hole to win his singles match 1-up.

Former University of North Carolina star Martin Ureta is also expected to play on the Tarheel Tour in 2008. Ureta, 22, finished his eligibility at the University of North Carolina in the spring of 2007 and played in the U.S. Open at historic Oakmont CC as an amateur. A two-time All-America selection, Ureta narrowly missed an invitation to the 2006 Masters after losing in the finals of the 2005 U.S. Public Links Championship to eventual champion Clay Ogden. His biggest amateur title was the 2004 North and South Amateur in Pinehurst. .

Another young player to keep a close eye on this season is Luke List from Ringgold, GA. List, 23, claimed runner-up honors at the 2004 U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot and in turn was invited to the 2005 Masters Tournament, where he finished T33. List also competed in the U.S. Open that summer at Pinehurst #2. He played just two events last summer on the Tarheel Tour after turning professional in July. He recorded a tie for 11th place at the Olde Sycamore Open in his first start as a pro.

The Tarheel Tour has become the proving ground for some of college golf’s top young talent over the last couple of years:

In 2006, former Wake Forest All-American and United States Walker Cup team member Kyle Reifers won his first professional event at the Tarheel Tour’s Charlotte National Open. The following week, he Monday-qualified for the Nationwide Tour's Chattanooga Classic and parlayed that opportunity into a playoff victory over Brandt Snedeker. In December, Reifers holed a 15-foot putt on the final hole of Qualifying School to earn his PGA Tour card for 2007.
Roberto Castro and Brendan Todd, 2007 All-America selections at Georgia Tech and Georgia, respectively, won on the Tarheel Tour in just their second starts as professionals. Castro won the inaugural Spring Creek Classic in Gordonsville, VA after finishing T7 in his pro debut at the Bermuda Run Open just two weeks prior. Todd made his first professional start at the Nationwide Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational and followed that up with his win at the Tarheel Tour’s Musgrove Mill Classic a mere three weeks later.
2004 Furman University “Male Athlete of the Year” Matt Davidson played the Tarheel Tour in the fall of 2004 in preparation for what would turn out to be a successful trip to the PGA Tour’s Qualifying Tournament later that year as he earned his PGA Tour card for 2005.

Other youngsters who are looking to make a splash on the tour in 2008 include two North Carolina natives: Sean Moore and Jerry Richardson. Moore, who hails from Marshville, was the individual champion at the 2004 ACC Championship as a freshman at Wake Forest, and also won the 2005 North and South Amateur. Moore played briefly on the Tarheel Tour towards the end of the 2007 season, but 2008 will be his first full year on tour. Richardson, a native of Burlington, was a 2007 All-ACC Selection as a senior at North Carolina State, as well as the North Carolina Amateur Champion in 2005 and 2007. Richardson will be making his professional debut in 2008.

The 2008 Tarheel Tour is expected to be the most competitive in the seven-year history of the tour. The season begins February 26th in Mount Pleasant, SC with the Patriots Point Classic at Patriots Point Links. Please follow all the action and visit our online forum at: www.tarheeltour.com.