Haley Moore becoming fan favorite at ANA Inspiration

April 04, 2015

There's no denying it. Mission Hills CC is quickly becoming the unofficial Haley Moore fan club.

After just making the cut at the ANA Inspiration, Haley Moore has won over the hearts of golf fans across the country, partially due to Golf Channel's coverage of her gutsy performance down the stretch in Round 2, stopping the bleeding just in time to advance on to weekend play. The 16-year-old Escondido resident made the cut on the line Friday evening, and was brought to tears by the magnitude of the moment live on Golf Channel, standing right next to Poppie's Pond. Her fan club grew all night, with PGA TOUR player Brandt Snedeker even tweeting out well wishes for the young amateur.

"The messages I received last night were incredible," said Haley on Saturday. "I heard from so many relative back home just saying they believe in me and were watching on TV. And then the tweet from Brandt, that was so cool. I hope one time to get to meet him."

On almost every hole Saturday fans, marshals, Mission Hills club members and even Golf Channel staff were coming up to Haley's mom, Michele, to let her know they were supporting her daughter. "We saw her on TV last night and just had to come out and support her today," one spectator shared. As the morning went on Haley's gallery grew sizably, and on hole 16 a Mission Hills resident came out of her house as Haley walked the fairway and let out a "Go Haley!" from her yard. Post-round, Haley signed a couple dozen autographs, fans ranging from young children to seasoned golf spectators.

Haley's goal this week was to make the cut, so with that out of the way she just wanted to come out and enjoy herself on Saturday. With an early morning 8:15 a.m. tee time, Haley was right back at it, playing even par for the first eight holes of the day before carding her first double bogey of the day on No. 9.

But there's no quit in Haley, and she didn't let the double get to her, turning in three straight birdies to open her back nine. She would finish the day with a 1-over-par 73, matching her opening round score. She's 4-over-par for the tournament.

"My putting and wedge game were really working well, but I need to figure out holes 15 and 16 because they've really been my trouble spots," said Haley. "But I'm just so happy to be out here. One more day of this. I'm really, really going to enjoy tomorrow."



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