Ryan Moore hits a tee shot on the eighth hole during the final round of The RSM Classic on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Resort on November 19, 2023 in St Simons Island, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Ryan Moore came through in the clutch. Entering the week at No. 128, he shot bogey-free rounds of 62-65 to finish T-8 at the RSM Classic and vault to No. 118 and earn full status for the 2024 season. He was the only player to move into the top 125 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and will be exempt into all full-field events and the Players Championship next season.
“I thought I needed that birdie on 17 to get it done, or at least one in those last two. I somehow just made that one go in,” he said, noting the nerves reminded him of trying to win a golf tournament coming down the stretch. “Starting this fall at I think 150th or something like that, I was pretty far out of it, a lot of points out of it.”
One of the differences for Moore this fall was a change in putters to an Odyssey Rossie AI putter.
“We had it narrowed down to like two or three putters that looked pretty good, and my 7-year-old was out there, Sully, and I was like, ‘Hey buddy, which one you like better?’ He walked over, kind of examined them. He was like that one. I was like, I’m committing to it.”
Troy Merritt, who started the week at No.123 and missed the cut on Friday, hung on to the final spot at No. 125 in the standings. The hard-luck loser was Carl Yuan. He entered the week as the bubble boy at 125 and remained there heading into the final round. He made birdies on his final two holes but it wasn’t enough as he sprinkled four bogeys on his card and finished with an even-par 70 (T-68) and at No. 126 in the standings.
“It was a pressure week, not gonna lie,” he said. “I didn’t leave any out there.”
But he noted that his back bothered him this week and may have affected his play.
“The bed at the Airbnb is just too soft for me, started bugging me on like Thursday night,” he said. “Tried to rehab and do stuff like that, but definitely bugged me a little bit. You know, that comes with the profession. I’ve got to handle my body well. It’s my responsibility.”