Ryan Moore 'more comfortable' on bigger stages after Ryder Cup experience
Ryan Moore says the pressure of playing in front of the "craziest crowds" at the Ryder Cup has been beneficial in his bid to win a maiden major title.
A terrific end-of-season run saw Moore catapult up the FedEx Cup standings and onto the United States team that toppled Europe at Hazeltine National last October.
Moore is among the field at Quail Hollow for the final major of the year at the US PGA Championship this weekend and the 34-year-old says his Ryder Cup experience has stood him in good stead on the biggest stages.
"It's certainly a comfort thing," Moore, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, said in an exclusive interview with Omnisport.
"Those were the craziest crowds you can possibly get. There was a lot of pressure with a lot of people congregated around each other.
"To get to play in an arena like that, it definitely makes you more comfortable on the bigger stages."
There has been plenty of talk about the changes made to Quail Hollow, an annual stop on the PGA Tour for the Wells Fargo Championship, with the front nine undergoing a particular overhaul.
On the new-look layout, Moore said: "It's hard when you play a golf course as many times as we've played this course.
"To come in and see it changed is a little bit of a shock. I've only played the front side once, which is where the majority of the changes are, and I was fine with them.
"It's different. It has a very different flow to the golf course. You just kind of get used to the rhythm of the way a golf course plays, and you change up … how much they changed the first hole, wow, instead of one and two, now it's basically one hole and that just changes up your approach to the hole, the way you start your day.
"But overall, it's tougher, that's for sure."
Being team-mates with the likes of Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson at the Ryder Cup gave Moore a first-hand look at how the next generation of PGA Tour stars interacts with one another.
And he has started to notice more camaraderie on Tour in recent years.
"I can see that happening," Moore said. "This is a lonely, solitary life going around here travelling, doing everything we do.
"So, getting to hang out, share houses with guys, or share a plane and fly places – it's nice to be able to go do it with other people and not just on your own all the time."
Moore starts his PGA Championship alongside Rafa Cabrera Bello and Ross Fisher.