All final round Taylor Moore seemed like one of those Sunday sidebars. Nice final round, get a taste of contention and secure a solid cheque. Instead, Moore came up clutch while others did not, and he came away with a career-defining victory at the 2023 Valspar Championship.
Moore was so out of the picture that he wasn’t asked for any interviews by the tour during the week save for what would turn out to be his winner’s press conference.
Still, during the final round he was hanging on the periphery while Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood and Adam Schenk took turns occupying or sharing the lead, Moore rolled in an 18-footer for birdie at the eighth then struck a 9-iron from 167 yards to two feet, leading to another birdie to get within one. An 8-iron off the tee at the par-3 15th led to another birdie to stay within one before a 26-footer dropped at 16 to knot Schenk.
Moore can thank his tee-to-green game for the win. Moore ranked third in strokes gained/off the tee, picking up 3.465 shots on the field. His driver is Ping’s G430 LST model – the low-spin version of the G430 family. Moore’s driver has a 45-inch Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60TX shaft, tipped a half-inch with a D3 swingweight.
Into the greens Moore was just as effective, ranking fourth in SG/approach, besting the field by 5.383 shots while also ranking second in greens in regulation. Moore’s irons are Ping’s S55 along with a Ping i230 4-iron. All of Moore’s irons have True Temper’s Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.
The clubs Taylor Moore used to win the 2023 Valspar Championship
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Driver: Ping G430 LST (Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue 60TX), 10.5 degrees
3-wood: Ping G430 Max, 15 degrees
7-wood: Ping G430 Max, 21 degrees
Irons (4): Ping i230; (5-PW): Ping S55
Wedges: Ping Glide Pro Forged (50, 54, 60 degrees)
Putter: Ping PLD Oslo 4
