Oklahoma State University Athletics
A Quick 9 With Jonathan Moore
June 26, 2015 | Cowboy Golf
What do you recall most often about the 2006 NCAA title run?
"I remember a lot of things. It was special. It was not far from where I lived. We actually flew into Portland, which is not far from where I grew up. We stayed a night at my parents' house. There were just a lot of special things, being close to home there were some friends and family that got to come watch. Our setup that week was pretty neat as a team. The hotel where we stayed, all five of us were in the same room, which didn't happen very often. That was kind of fun. The thing I remember the most was that third round. Terrible weather and we needed that because we were a little out of it at that point. That just being a tough day, Oklahoma State golf prepares you for that to have that mentality when conditions are tough let's go ahead and strap up and get after it. We all played well that day. There was a team meeting the night before the final round that was pretty special. We really kind of got to a place where we realized every shot we were hitting out there was for each other. That is what we are doing this for tomorrow and I am going to try to play the best I can to help you and you are going to try to play the best you can to help me. It seemed like we went out there as a team that week and it hasn't been done since, which is just amazing. I think maybe we took that for granted and didn't realize how special it is and it doesn't just happen all of the time. Ten years removed from it, I think I have more of an appreciation for it now."
"I can't say I wasn't aware of what was happening individually, but probably a couple of times now I have noticed in my life I actually do better when it is about more than just me. That is what I think was really neat about that week. I just remember that was what was truly in my heart that I was playing for these guys. I think that allowed me to play better than if it had just been an individual tournament. I remember feeling like I needed to keep my foot down because you don't know, especially in that stroke play format. If I am playing well and I am playing for those guys, I just need to keep trying to go as low as I can and play as well as I can. Just because I am up by two shots or three shots or four in the individual, there is a much bigger thing going on than just what I was doing. This is for our team. If I can shoot 5-under that day that would be better than shooting 2-under even though it might still mean I win individually, for the team it could be huge. That is kind of how it played out. I think we won by three and I won by four. I just remember seeing the smiles on everyone's faces. It was just incredible. The last putt I made was a 12-footer for birdie on the last hole and the team was standing right up on the hill behind the green. There are some pictures where I am standing holding the putter up and kind of celebrating. I am looking right at the guys. That is where the coaches were and where the team was. I just remember chills running throughout my whole body. I was looking at those guys and it was like, 'we did it'. Coach McGraw and I hugging afterwards. I still get a little bit of that feeling just talking about it. It was a special week."
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You experienced a lot of ups and downs during your time at Oklahoma State. Take us through your collegiate career.
"Coach McGraw and I have talked about it. That hug afterwards, it was like if people really knew where I was just a year prior. I learned a lot that I still take with me to this day. The thing that happened for me that first year was I was having terrible year that first year redshirting. What I learned was I was having the worst year of my life golf-wise, but I was having the best year of my life everywhere else. So, what started to happen was I realized golf doesn't define me. I can be getting my teeth kicked in every time I go to the course, feeling embarrassed in a lot of ways, yet I was still ok. I had this unbelievable community around me. I got involved with a great church, the coaches, just making friends. It was just a great lesson that golf doesn't have to be the end-all, be-all of what makes you happy. That was really comforting going forward and that has given me a lot of freedom the rest of my life as I have played golf knowing that even if this week doesn't go well or this day doesn't go well or even a bad year. There are still going to be a lot of things to be thankful for in life. That was the huge lesson. I also learned that I really enjoyed golf because, even though it wasn't going well, I really did genuinely love the game. I was excited to get out and keep going and practice and try to get better. There were a lot of lessons that first year. The second year, was just amazing that it happened the way it did. I have the coaches to thank for how they let me go about trying to get better and try and work through that. They definitely said some real truth to me at times that I needed to hear, but were also extremely encouraging as well when I am not sure why they would be. When you are shooting in the 90s, Coach Holder told me at one point I needed to probably just take a break the rest of this round. I think I shot in the 50s on the front nine out here and he didn't know what to do. He just said, 'Jonathan you should probably just go practice instead of finishing the rest of this qualifying round'. It had really gotten to a bad spot. I really do wish I had played better my third year I was here at school. I wish, as a team, we could have done better and I could have individually played better to help with that. College is just an amazing thing because it is this growing up part of life. I am thankful I had it, especially here."
What is so special about being a part of the Cowboy golf program?
"I had Coach Holder my first year and Coach Bratton as the assistant. The next two years, Coach McGraw as the head coach and Coach Bratton as the assistant. Those men are all successful in their own rights. They know how to organize and they know how to plan. I learned things on the golf course about course management and how to chart a course and how to go about developing a strategy to play it. I think you are a certain kind of person when you come to Oklahoma State. You realize this is a program we are going to come here and we are going to win a national championship. It is not coming here to just be ok. It is talked about from day one and you see it everywhere you are, what guys have done ahead of you and the only reason you have this place is because of what guys have done. It is actually a great thing to learn that, in some ways, you have to live up to an expectation and a tradition and try to fulfill what it is you came here to do. Thankfully, our team was able to do that and it is something you will never forget. As a kid, I dreamed about coming to Oklahoma State since I was 13. I came, I came for a reason and we did it. It is just something you will always take with you."
When you walk down the hallway at Karsten Creek and see your place in history, what does that mean to you?
"I am thankful. To be honest, I remember at the final round of the national championship I had quite an exchange with myself after I played 14. I was doing well and having a good final round, but I could totally sense the pressure. Even though I was 1- or 2-under at the time, I was choking. I can just feel it and was just struggling. I remember thinking, 'Ok. What would happen, Jonathan, if you just fell flat on your face for the rest of these last few holes? Just really tanked and did not do well. Would you be ok? What would it be like coming back to Karsten and you were the guy that let it down?' I remember walking that through in my head and playing it out. Again, the lessons from the year before had taught me that I would be ok. There is a lot more to life than just golf. I am thankful I had that exchange. It allowed me to free up and remember that I was playing for these guys and let's go get it. There have been so many great players since I have been here that have done everything right, from Rickie Fowler to Morgan Hoffmann to Peter Uihlein to Kevin Tway. Last year, those guys on that team did everything right. They won all the tournaments you are supposed to and it didn't happen. In some ways, you are just thankful that it did work out in your favor and you are just happy that you got to continue to help leave a legacy for this program."
Take us down your path since you left Oklahoma State.
"My journey has been different. It has been different than what I thought it was going to be. When I turned pro, I thought probably pretty quickly I would be playing on the PGA Tour. That is what I thought was going to happen and it hasn't to this day. I have married an amazing woman, Claire, who is awesome. We have been travel buddies for the last six years now. We have traveled all over Asia, we have gone to Europe, South Africa and played golf all over the world really. Since 2011, the Asian Tour has kind of been my home tour and it has been an adventure. I do hope to one day be playing over here, but I definitely wouldn't trade it because it has been too good for Claire and I as a couple and who I am as a person now. It has done a lot in regard to that. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I am looking forward to hopefully having a little shorter flights."
What has life around the globe taught you?
"Patience is a big thing. You are in a different culture every day. There is stuff that happens that doesn't make sense and doesn't operate quite the way you are used to things operating in our country. You have to learn to be patient. You appreciate things a lot more. It has taught me to appreciate where we are sitting at today, Karsten Creek. A lot of these guys I am playing against have been really generous to take Claire and I in and show us where they live. They want to show us their country and make sure we have a good time. It is amazing some of the places these guys practice. They just have a driving range off mats. When they are home between tournaments that is it. When I come home, I get to come to this amazing place. It has taught me a lot and to appreciate what I have, where I have gotten to grow up and patience. Claire and I have learned to depend on each other. You can't run to the family. If you get into it a little bit you have to work it out right there. I think we have become one in a sense. We are all about looking out for the other person and making sure the other person is doing well. If one person is not enjoying it then it isn't going to work.
Why did you decide to move back to Stillwater?
"We had gone to Orlando for a few years. A big part of it was family, but a big part of it for me was Karsten Creek and OSU golf. I remember Chris Tidland came into my life that first year when I was really struggling and just played with me. We went to the same church together and he invested in me and wanted to help me. We are great friends to this day and I look up to him and more to him than almost any professional golfer out there. The way he has managed a career and a family. He is a part of his community and I just love that. I hope to maybe be some of that for some of these guys in the future. We get it. It can be hard and sometimes golf isn't a friendly game. They just make you better too. They are really good. The guys out here are really good. It keeps you from making an old man swing too soon. You have to keep it up there and rear back and not let them outdrive you by too much more than 10 or 20 yards because that just isn't good."
What makes Karsten Creek so special?
"You can't find a facility like it. It is private beyond private. It was designed for OSU Cowboy golf and that is what it is for. You see members out here and we would gladly welcome more people to come, but it is such a hidden gem. You just know when you walk in out here that it is for these guys and girls who are a part of OSU men's and women's golf. It is definitely a hard course and sometimes it may not feel like a sanctuary, but at some point it turns into that and it turned into that for me when I was in school. I just love coming out here. There are people I love to be around. You can practice with the guys and girls on the team and that is great. Sometimes, there are amazing times when you can just be out here by yourself and lay down on a tee box if you want and relax. There is no place like it."
You recently became a father (on May 19, 2015) what has that experience meant to you?
"I didn't know I could love something so much. She is incredible. I am almost a little emotional just thinking about it. It used to be Claire and me, but now I am thinking about Adelyn a lot. Like I was saying about Chris, the way he has managed a career with a family that loves him and he has been so involved in their lives, I really want to do that too. It has been fun and I am very blessed."
"I remember a lot of things. It was special. It was not far from where I lived. We actually flew into Portland, which is not far from where I grew up. We stayed a night at my parents' house. There were just a lot of special things, being close to home there were some friends and family that got to come watch. Our setup that week was pretty neat as a team. The hotel where we stayed, all five of us were in the same room, which didn't happen very often. That was kind of fun. The thing I remember the most was that third round. Terrible weather and we needed that because we were a little out of it at that point. That just being a tough day, Oklahoma State golf prepares you for that to have that mentality when conditions are tough let's go ahead and strap up and get after it. We all played well that day. There was a team meeting the night before the final round that was pretty special. We really kind of got to a place where we realized every shot we were hitting out there was for each other. That is what we are doing this for tomorrow and I am going to try to play the best I can to help you and you are going to try to play the best you can to help me. It seemed like we went out there as a team that week and it hasn't been done since, which is just amazing. I think maybe we took that for granted and didn't realize how special it is and it doesn't just happen all of the time. Ten years removed from it, I think I have more of an appreciation for it now."
"I can't say I wasn't aware of what was happening individually, but probably a couple of times now I have noticed in my life I actually do better when it is about more than just me. That is what I think was really neat about that week. I just remember that was what was truly in my heart that I was playing for these guys. I think that allowed me to play better than if it had just been an individual tournament. I remember feeling like I needed to keep my foot down because you don't know, especially in that stroke play format. If I am playing well and I am playing for those guys, I just need to keep trying to go as low as I can and play as well as I can. Just because I am up by two shots or three shots or four in the individual, there is a much bigger thing going on than just what I was doing. This is for our team. If I can shoot 5-under that day that would be better than shooting 2-under even though it might still mean I win individually, for the team it could be huge. That is kind of how it played out. I think we won by three and I won by four. I just remember seeing the smiles on everyone's faces. It was just incredible. The last putt I made was a 12-footer for birdie on the last hole and the team was standing right up on the hill behind the green. There are some pictures where I am standing holding the putter up and kind of celebrating. I am looking right at the guys. That is where the coaches were and where the team was. I just remember chills running throughout my whole body. I was looking at those guys and it was like, 'we did it'. Coach McGraw and I hugging afterwards. I still get a little bit of that feeling just talking about it. It was a special week."
Â
You experienced a lot of ups and downs during your time at Oklahoma State. Take us through your collegiate career.
"Coach McGraw and I have talked about it. That hug afterwards, it was like if people really knew where I was just a year prior. I learned a lot that I still take with me to this day. The thing that happened for me that first year was I was having terrible year that first year redshirting. What I learned was I was having the worst year of my life golf-wise, but I was having the best year of my life everywhere else. So, what started to happen was I realized golf doesn't define me. I can be getting my teeth kicked in every time I go to the course, feeling embarrassed in a lot of ways, yet I was still ok. I had this unbelievable community around me. I got involved with a great church, the coaches, just making friends. It was just a great lesson that golf doesn't have to be the end-all, be-all of what makes you happy. That was really comforting going forward and that has given me a lot of freedom the rest of my life as I have played golf knowing that even if this week doesn't go well or this day doesn't go well or even a bad year. There are still going to be a lot of things to be thankful for in life. That was the huge lesson. I also learned that I really enjoyed golf because, even though it wasn't going well, I really did genuinely love the game. I was excited to get out and keep going and practice and try to get better. There were a lot of lessons that first year. The second year, was just amazing that it happened the way it did. I have the coaches to thank for how they let me go about trying to get better and try and work through that. They definitely said some real truth to me at times that I needed to hear, but were also extremely encouraging as well when I am not sure why they would be. When you are shooting in the 90s, Coach Holder told me at one point I needed to probably just take a break the rest of this round. I think I shot in the 50s on the front nine out here and he didn't know what to do. He just said, 'Jonathan you should probably just go practice instead of finishing the rest of this qualifying round'. It had really gotten to a bad spot. I really do wish I had played better my third year I was here at school. I wish, as a team, we could have done better and I could have individually played better to help with that. College is just an amazing thing because it is this growing up part of life. I am thankful I had it, especially here."
What is so special about being a part of the Cowboy golf program?
"I had Coach Holder my first year and Coach Bratton as the assistant. The next two years, Coach McGraw as the head coach and Coach Bratton as the assistant. Those men are all successful in their own rights. They know how to organize and they know how to plan. I learned things on the golf course about course management and how to chart a course and how to go about developing a strategy to play it. I think you are a certain kind of person when you come to Oklahoma State. You realize this is a program we are going to come here and we are going to win a national championship. It is not coming here to just be ok. It is talked about from day one and you see it everywhere you are, what guys have done ahead of you and the only reason you have this place is because of what guys have done. It is actually a great thing to learn that, in some ways, you have to live up to an expectation and a tradition and try to fulfill what it is you came here to do. Thankfully, our team was able to do that and it is something you will never forget. As a kid, I dreamed about coming to Oklahoma State since I was 13. I came, I came for a reason and we did it. It is just something you will always take with you."
When you walk down the hallway at Karsten Creek and see your place in history, what does that mean to you?
"I am thankful. To be honest, I remember at the final round of the national championship I had quite an exchange with myself after I played 14. I was doing well and having a good final round, but I could totally sense the pressure. Even though I was 1- or 2-under at the time, I was choking. I can just feel it and was just struggling. I remember thinking, 'Ok. What would happen, Jonathan, if you just fell flat on your face for the rest of these last few holes? Just really tanked and did not do well. Would you be ok? What would it be like coming back to Karsten and you were the guy that let it down?' I remember walking that through in my head and playing it out. Again, the lessons from the year before had taught me that I would be ok. There is a lot more to life than just golf. I am thankful I had that exchange. It allowed me to free up and remember that I was playing for these guys and let's go get it. There have been so many great players since I have been here that have done everything right, from Rickie Fowler to Morgan Hoffmann to Peter Uihlein to Kevin Tway. Last year, those guys on that team did everything right. They won all the tournaments you are supposed to and it didn't happen. In some ways, you are just thankful that it did work out in your favor and you are just happy that you got to continue to help leave a legacy for this program."
Take us down your path since you left Oklahoma State.
"My journey has been different. It has been different than what I thought it was going to be. When I turned pro, I thought probably pretty quickly I would be playing on the PGA Tour. That is what I thought was going to happen and it hasn't to this day. I have married an amazing woman, Claire, who is awesome. We have been travel buddies for the last six years now. We have traveled all over Asia, we have gone to Europe, South Africa and played golf all over the world really. Since 2011, the Asian Tour has kind of been my home tour and it has been an adventure. I do hope to one day be playing over here, but I definitely wouldn't trade it because it has been too good for Claire and I as a couple and who I am as a person now. It has done a lot in regard to that. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I am looking forward to hopefully having a little shorter flights."
What has life around the globe taught you?
"Patience is a big thing. You are in a different culture every day. There is stuff that happens that doesn't make sense and doesn't operate quite the way you are used to things operating in our country. You have to learn to be patient. You appreciate things a lot more. It has taught me to appreciate where we are sitting at today, Karsten Creek. A lot of these guys I am playing against have been really generous to take Claire and I in and show us where they live. They want to show us their country and make sure we have a good time. It is amazing some of the places these guys practice. They just have a driving range off mats. When they are home between tournaments that is it. When I come home, I get to come to this amazing place. It has taught me a lot and to appreciate what I have, where I have gotten to grow up and patience. Claire and I have learned to depend on each other. You can't run to the family. If you get into it a little bit you have to work it out right there. I think we have become one in a sense. We are all about looking out for the other person and making sure the other person is doing well. If one person is not enjoying it then it isn't going to work.
Why did you decide to move back to Stillwater?
"We had gone to Orlando for a few years. A big part of it was family, but a big part of it for me was Karsten Creek and OSU golf. I remember Chris Tidland came into my life that first year when I was really struggling and just played with me. We went to the same church together and he invested in me and wanted to help me. We are great friends to this day and I look up to him and more to him than almost any professional golfer out there. The way he has managed a career and a family. He is a part of his community and I just love that. I hope to maybe be some of that for some of these guys in the future. We get it. It can be hard and sometimes golf isn't a friendly game. They just make you better too. They are really good. The guys out here are really good. It keeps you from making an old man swing too soon. You have to keep it up there and rear back and not let them outdrive you by too much more than 10 or 20 yards because that just isn't good."
What makes Karsten Creek so special?
"You can't find a facility like it. It is private beyond private. It was designed for OSU Cowboy golf and that is what it is for. You see members out here and we would gladly welcome more people to come, but it is such a hidden gem. You just know when you walk in out here that it is for these guys and girls who are a part of OSU men's and women's golf. It is definitely a hard course and sometimes it may not feel like a sanctuary, but at some point it turns into that and it turned into that for me when I was in school. I just love coming out here. There are people I love to be around. You can practice with the guys and girls on the team and that is great. Sometimes, there are amazing times when you can just be out here by yourself and lay down on a tee box if you want and relax. There is no place like it."
You recently became a father (on May 19, 2015) what has that experience meant to you?
"I didn't know I could love something so much. She is incredible. I am almost a little emotional just thinking about it. It used to be Claire and me, but now I am thinking about Adelyn a lot. Like I was saying about Chris, the way he has managed a career with a family that loves him and he has been so involved in their lives, I really want to do that too. It has been fun and I am very blessed."
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