Haley Moore was enjoying a post-round pomegranate cosmopolitan when she answered the phone. She deserved to celebrate after scorching the field with a 10-under 62 in the desert.
The 21-year-old entered the final round trailing LPGA veteran Alena Sharp by one stroke at Troon North. Moore wound up winning this week’s Cactus Tour event by nine. No other player in the field broke 70 in the final round.
Two-time major champion Anna Nordqvist finished fourth. Karen Kim played alongside Moore on Friday and aced the 13th hole en route to a 70 and a third-place finish. Kim bought Moore and any other takers a beer after the round.
Wow! @HaleyMoore_20 closes it out in style. Wins again on the @THECACTUSTOUR with a final round 62 (-16 total)
🇨🇦 @AlenaSharp finishes 2nd alone at -7 pic.twitter.com/vLHvisubkV
— Flagstick Golf (@Flagstick) July 10, 2020
Moore won last week’s Cactus Tour event at Stallion Mountain by three strokes after a final-round 64. She has now won three times on the Cactus Tour since the LPGA stopped staging tournaments due to COVID-19. (The superstitious Moore also wore the same outfits for all three rounds this week as she did last week.)
“It’s definitely going to be pretty high,” said Moore of her confidence level when the LPGA restarts on July 31 in Toledo, Ohio.
The 62 included two eagles in the span of three holes on Nos. 9 and 11. Moore hit both par 5s in two and drained a 20-foot putt on the ninth and a 4-footer on the 11th. It tied her personal low, set when she was in middle school.
Moore is in the field for the first two events in Toledo, Ohio: LPGA Drive On Championship and Marathon Classic. She’ll have to qualify out of those to earn a spot in either of the fields in Scotland. The former Arizona standout is ready to make whatever last-minute arrangements are necessary to make that trip should she punch her ticket.
John Chance, the caddie she met at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, will be back to work for her in Toledo and will remain on the bag for the rest of the year. Chance lives in Georgia and caddies at Augusta National.
Moore played in a dozen tournaments during the LPGA’s coronavirus break, including 11 on the Cactus Tour.
“I’m just happy that Mike (Brown) was able to keep this tour going,” said Moore of the Cactus Tour owner who barreled on in the Arizona desert despite early criticism. “This tour helped me get ready for Q-School before I became a pro.”
And now it has given her a bona fide hot streak heading into Phase II of her rookie year.
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