Oklahoma State University Athletics
Dayton Rose Falls in Finals of Amateur Public Links
July 18, 2004 | Cowboy Golf
MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (AP) -- Ryan Moore needed just 31 holes to beat Dayton Rose in Saturday's 36-hole match-play finals and win his second U.S. Amateur Public Links championship.
Moore, of Puyallup, Wash., and a senior-to-be at Nevada-Las Vegas, built a five-hole lead through 14 en route to a 6 and 5 victory over Rose. The win capped Moore's dominant week of golf at Rush Creek Golf Club, where he never trailed in his final five matches, covering 88 holes.
``I love having the lead,'' Moore said. ``I enjoy being the guy people are coming after. But I put more pressure on myself to succeed that anyone else could put on me.''
Moore, who won medalist honors at the NCAA championship last month by six strokes, claimed the Public Links' Standish Cup for the second time in three years and secured a berth in the 2005 Masters. He's now 13-1 in match play at the last three Public Links championships.
Moore also became the Public Links' first multiple winner since David Berganio won in 1991 and 1993. He's the eighth multiple winner in the 79-year history of the event and the first player to win the NCAA individual championship and the Public Links title in the same year.
``To win it once is great, to win it a second time is just amazing,'' Moore said. ``I never really beat myself this week. I just kept hitting good shots, stayed patient with myself and was never too stressed out.''
Moore already had an impressive resume before the Links. He played in the 2002 U.S. Open; played practice rounds with Arnold Palmer and later made the cut at the 2003 Masters; played in the 2003 Walker Cup; and has earned collegiate All-America honors three times at Nevada-Las Vegas.
Rose, of Midwest City, Okla., a senior-to-be at Oklahoma State, was Public Links runner-up for the second year in a row. Rose lost to Brandt Snedeker 10 and 9 in the 2003 finals, two days after Snedeker had eliminated Moore 4 and 3 in round two.
``Ryan has the best game in the world as far as amateurs,'' Rose said. ``He's got everything covered. He hits it straight, he hits it long, and it seems like every putt within 12 feet was automatic.''
Moore said putting has been the key to his 2004 hot streak.
``Putting really creates momentum in match play and can really control the matches,'' Moore said. ``If you know you can hit it to 15 feet and make the putt, it takes so much pressure off your irons and wedges.''
