Rest is key to solving Las Vegas golfer’s back issues

Ryan Moore’s lost PGA Tour season ended at the start of August, a year filled with injuries that limited him to just 16 starts, most coming late in the season.

He made half his cuts and finished 186th on the money list. But for the Las Vegas golfer, there was light at the end of the tunnel. Earlier in the summer, Moore finally figured out exactly what is going on with his back.

“Fortunately, it’s nothing I need surgery for, but it’s just a very tricky spot,” explained Moore, a five-time winner on tour and former Ryder Cup player.

His injury is where the rib joint meets the spine.

“I kind of have some chronic deterioration in there, and I basically just keep spraining it over and over and over again, which you can imagine doesn’t feel great twisting and swinging a golf club as hard as I can,” Moore said.

The course of action for Moore is six to eight weeks of rest, he said. That he is getting thanks to missing the playoffs. He hopes to be ready to roll when the fall season rolls around, with a logical starting point his hometown Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin the first week of October.

“I’ve been dealing with this injury for a while and I know what’s wrong now, I just need time to deal with it,” he said, noting he played several events in July in search of some confidence heading into the new season.

Tour Championship

The PGA Tour’s finale is this week in Atlanta. As they have for the past few years, the tournament will not be staged on an even playing field of 30.

Players will start with staggered scores, depending on their position in the FedEx Cup standings. No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will step to the first tee already 10 under. No. 2 Patrick Cantlay will be 8 under and No. 3 Will Zalatoris 7 under. The list goes all the way down to Nos. 26-30 starting at the appropriate even par.

It’s an attempt to reward the year’s best players in the biggest financial event of the year. But what it is in reality is an unfair system in a sport where every player is judged on the same course.

Jon Rahm, who will begin the week seven shots back at 3 under, finds it fundamentally wrong.

“I don’t think it’s the best system,” Rahm said. “You don’t get to the Super Bowl and the team with the better record starts with a two-touchdown advantage. I think it’s absolutely ludicrous.”

U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick isn’t a fan of the system either, but he knows no amount of complaining will change things this week.

“No, I don’t think it’s fair,” he said. “But life isn’t fair.”

The consolation for players starting at the back of the pack is the prize money. Simply showing up and finishing 30th this week will net someone $500,000. First prize, from the $75 million pool, is $18 million.

Moving on

Three players with Las Vegas ties are in the Tour Championship field. Still playing are residents Xander Schauffele (No. 4) and Collin Morikawa (No. 21). They are joined by former UNLV star Adam Scott (No. 29).

Seasons ended at the BMW Championship for Maverick McNealy (No. 37), Kurt Kitayama (No. 40) and Seamus Power (No. 42).

Chip shots

— Painted Desert will host a Pre-Labor Day scramble on Sunday, Sept. 4. Cost is $129 for each two-man team for the event, which begins at 7 a.m. with a shotgun start.

— Las Vegas Golf Club is hosting a summer scramble Sunday, with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. Cost is $158 per team.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.