Ex-UNLV golf star rediscovers form at John Deere Classic

It’s beauteous hard to find immoderate similarities betwixt the godforsaken play of Southern Nevada and the Midwest charm of TPC Deer Run successful Silvis, Illinois. But the leaderboard astatine past week’s John Deere Classic was littered with Las Vegas players.

Ryan Moore and Kevin Na tied for second, portion Seamus Power — the Irish golfer who lists his location arsenic Las Vegas arsenic of U.S. Open qualifying past period — tied for eighth. Maverick McNealy started Sunday successful contention but fell backmost to 18th connected a time successful which helium made an improbable 18 consecutive pars.

The decorativeness was a agleam airy successful what has been a mislaid play for Moore, the five-time PGA Tour winner, amateur fable and NCAA idiosyncratic champion erstwhile helium played for UNLV astir 20 years ago. Moore has been plagued for a twelvemonth by a balky backmost helium primitively wounded past August.

Moore, 38, seldom plays consecutive weeks immoderate longer, has missed immense chunks of the play and hadn’t posted a top-10 decorativeness successful 18 months.

“Someone enactment it to maine recently, it’s not age, it’s miles astatine this point. You enactment a batch of miles connected your body, whether it’s traveling oregon playing tournaments and each this stuff,” Moore said Sunday. “At immoderate point, your assemblage is going to archer you no, it doesn’t privation to bash it anymore.”

He said what utilized to instrumentality a mates of days to retrieve from present takes longer.

“You don’t bounce backmost aft 4 oregon 5 days of rest,” helium said. “It takes a mates weeks present to benignant of get backmost to feeling good.”

Moore was encouraged by his play astatine the John Deere and however his assemblage held up, but not capable to hazard a 2nd consecutive week of golf. By virtuousness of his decorativeness astatine the John Deere, helium earned a spot successful this week’s British Open but declined the invitation.

“There’s conscionable excessively galore variables there,” Moore said. “My assemblage did consciousness bully this week, but it’s a agelong flight, it’s a agelong week. It’s hard, tough, acold conditions. That makes maine a small tense conscionable forcing it.”

Moore isn’t unsocial successful skipping this week’s major. Traveling to Europe erstwhile the coronavirus remains an contented played a relation successful Na withdrawing from the tourney past week. Seventeen players person opted out, including PGA Tour winners Hideki Matsuyama, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson, Matthew Wolff, Cam Davis, K.H. Lee, Sungjae Im and Si-Woo Kim.

“It was a pugnacious decision, but for my household and me, it is champion to skip the Open this year,” Na said successful a statement. “I volition beryllium backmost adjacent year. It’s 1 of my favourite weeks, and I would emotion to clasp the Claret Jug 1 day.”

U.S. Amateur qualifier

Jackson Rivera and John Kim finished astatine 14 nether for 2 rounds astatine Bear’s Best past week to stock medalist honors and suffice for the U.S. Amateur.

Rivera and Kim changeable matching rounds of 66-64. Rivera, a caller precocious schoolhouse postgraduate from San Diego headed to Southern California, had 14 birdies and nary bogeys.

The 3rd qualifying spot went to Yuki Moriyama, a 2020 postgraduate of the American Heritage Academy successful Henderson who precocious completed his freshman play astatine Oregon. Moriyama had the debased circular of the tournament, an opening 63, followed by a 69 to decorativeness astatine 12 under.

George Leigh and Hazen Newman are the archetypal and 2nd alternates aft finishing astatine 11 under.

The U.S. Amateur begins Aug. 9 astatine famed Oakmont Country Club successful Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

Greg Robertson is simply a freelance newsman who covers play for the Review-Journal. He tin beryllium reached astatine robertsongt@gmail.com.