Story by Keith Jaco
Staff writer
Following the loss of Moa Folke to graduation last season, the Racers needed someone to step in as an important piece to the puzzle for Murray State women’s golf. Anna Moore, a graduate student from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, has done just that.
During her five-year career as a Racer, Moore has accomplished a list of feats including multiple OVC Championships and NCAA appearances as well as a pair of Kentucky State Amateur Championship wins in 2017 and 2018.
Moore’s journey to the Racers began with one visit and that was all it took. After wrapping up her golfing career at University Heights, Moore knew Murray State was her new home away from home.
“In high school I wasn’t really looking into a lot of big schools,” Moore said. “I came on a visit with my parents and we all three fell in love. I just loved how close it was to home. I didn’t want to go too far from home and I knew that going into it, so I knew as soon as I got here on my visit this was the place for me.”
While Moore has made her presence known as a prominent asset to the Racers’ golf team, things didn’t get off to an amazing start because of a minor setback.
Following limited play her freshman season due to a knee injury, Moore played in 28 rounds in her sophomore year, with a stroke average of 81.1.
Moore believes this time to heal prepared her for a lengthy career at Murray State.
“Honestly it was a blessing in disguise,” Moore said. “I hated it when it happened but it gave me a year to watch and see what the older and younger girls do and I think that really helped me see where I wanted to be. I didn’t get to practice a lot but I got to be there and that instilled the vision I wanted for the rest of my career. Knowing that I had four full years ahead of me it was like I got a second chance to have an entire career.”
Following her first year as a full-time player in her redshirt sophomore season, Moore lowered her scoring average, shooting 77.2 per round in 33 rounds of play her redshirt junior year.
Moore was one of five players to help the Racer women’s golf team win their 10th OVC Championship in the 2016-17 season with a record score of 866. Moore also helped the Racers set a school record of six wins in a season, including four straight. To cap off a strong year of play, Moore played in her first NCAA Championship and the Racers fourth as a team in Lubbock, Texas at Rawls Course.
In her redshirt senior year, Moore continued to improve her game and added to her resume, lowering her stroke average to 76.4 while participating in 11 events and playing 31 total rounds. Moore helped the Racers capture back-to-back OVC Championships, winning their 11th in school history.
Moore represented the Racers in their fifth NCAA Championship appearance for the second consecutive year, finishing as the highest Murray State participant in 47th place on rounds of 73-75-73?221.
Moore’s performance in her redshirt senior season led to her first All-OVC selection.
Being around the top names in college golf gave Moore and her teammates the confidence they needed to continue down their path of success.
“Getting to be around the big teams and big schools and seeing that we’re really not that different from them, really boosted everyone’s confidence,” Moore said. “I was excited to get to play again in Wisconsin last year, I played much better and I think that was because I knew from the year before we fit in there and I could play at that level. I think even now, we’re not looking forward to it like it’s going to happen for sure, but we’re excited for the opportunity to get to do that again hopefully.”
Moore continued to add to her career accolades this past summer, qualifying for the 2018 U.S. Amateur but unfortunately missed the cut for match play.
Despite not advancing in the 2018 U.S. Amateur event, Moore took advantage of the chance to defend her 2017 title at the Kentucky State Amateur tournament.
Moore defeated University of Missouri women’s golfer Cayce Hendrickson to claim back-to-back championships heading into her graduate year as a Racer.
With consecutive Kentucky State Amateur tournament wins and NCAA appearances under her belt, Moore believes these experiences will continue to improve her game this season.
“Anytime you have success like [winning tournaments] it’s going to do nothing but boost your confidence,” Moore said. “The first summer that I won the [Kentucky State Amateur] I felt like the biggest thing I was lacking was confidence. I felt like my swing was just as solid then as it is now and I felt like everything about my game was good besides my confidence. [Winning] that really showed myself that I could it and it was just a huge benefit to my game.”
Moore and her team have carried their success from the fall season into the spring, finding a groove that led to a win in the Citrus Challenge hosted by Morehead State on Tuesday, March 19. In addition to posting the Racers’ third win of the season, Moore took home first place honors by six strokes over teammate Linette Holmslykke.
“I think this past week it was a lot of fun for the entire team to be winning again,” Moore said. “We all played really well and all saw so many improvements. It’s just good timing because it seems like it’s clicking at the right time and all of our work is paying off from the entire school year. We’re moving in the right direction at the right pace and I think it’s getting fun for all of us. I think that we have the momentum going in the direction we need it so hopefully we can win another conference championship and go play at regionals again.”
With Moore’s Racer career coming to a close, she says that not only the golf team but the entire athletic community at Murray State has made her time as a Racer that much more special.
“We’ve had some great basketball teams and even the football team has gotten better while I’ve been here so that’s been super fun; We’ve had a really good atmosphere in the whole athletic department,” Moore said. “On top of all of that, getting to play for Velvet [Milkman] and getting to meet former players that played for her and the fact that I’m a part of this forever is really special to me. I’ll always hold that very close to my heart.”