Sometimes, all it takes to get things rolling is a different perspective.
In the case of Ryan Moore, who’s made just a single cut since the return to golf, that meant a new putting approach that felt, well, familiar.
After missing cuts at the Charles Schwab Challenge, RBC Heritage Classic and the Travelers Championship, Moore revamped his putting stance, standing a bit more straight up and putting his feet closer together.
With a new view, the putts started dropping. And if Thursday’s results from the 3M Open are any indication, that new outlook is the right one. Moore finished with seven birdies en route to an opening-round 65, which was good enough for a piece of the lead from the early group.
3M Open: Tee times | Betting odds | Fantasy golf | TV
“That’s actually an adjustment I made this week. I would say it’s a little bit more like I used to putt a long time ago, almost college, amateur days, a little bit more upright,” Moore said. “So I kind of went and built a putter that visually looked right to set up that way to it, and I’ve been working on that hard this week and just feeling honestly a lot more comfortable visually over the golf ball, seeing my line a little bit better, which is I kind of feel like where I’ve been struggling lately.”
Moore, who played with Scott Piercy and Jason Dufner, made the turn at 33, then rolled in five birdies in a six-hole stretch to open the back. He did drop a shot at No. 16 when he three-putted, but all in all, Moore was thrilled with the progress.
“It was a very solid round of golf. I hit it well off the tee, kept it in play really well, missed it in the right spots, hit some great iron shots, a couple great second shots into par 5s. I had a lot of good scoring opportunities,” he said. “I was able — it was a very stress-free round of golf, which I haven’t had a lot of those lately, so it was nice. It felt good to feel like almost a little disappointed to have shot 6 under today, I felt like I left a few out there.
“But it was perfect scoring conditions, it was perfect weather this morning, a light breeze, so just hit some good shots early and actually made a couple good putts and I felt comfortable.”
[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-9JtFt04J]
Minnesota is a long way from home for Moore, who was born in the Pacific Northwest and has lived in Las Vegas since attending UNLV, but he has plenty of fond memories of The Star of the North. Moore won the U.S. Amateur Public Links in Minnesota back in 2004, then clinched the 2016 Ryder Cup by beating Lee Westwood at Hazeltine.
“I have quite a bit of positives here,” Moore said. “I’m not sure why, but obviously I have some great memories with both and it’s always an area I look forward to coming to.”
[vertical-gallery id=778055723]