Ryan Moore Leaves Scratch Golf to Join Adams Golf, Loses Ownership Stake

Ryan Moore signed an endorsement contract with Adams Golf Inc., leaving Scratch Golf one year after becoming a part-owner and endorser of the 7-year-old company.

Moore, who won a career-high $2.4 million this past season on the U.S. PGA Tour, will forfeit all ownership in Scratch, the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based company said in a press release.

Neither Scratch President Ari Techner nor Moore, the No. 42 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, gave a reason for the split.

“I’m excited about joining a company that is committed to developing world-class golf clubs and where I can make an impact,” Moore, 27, said in a statement released by Adams. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

The former U.S. Amateur champion has used a driver and hybrid club made by Plano, Texas-based Adams for several years. He switched to Scratch irons and wedges before 2010 after playing most of the 2009 season without an equipment sponsor.

Two months after reaching an agreement with Moore last November, closely held Scratch hired Don White, Jack Nicklaus’s former clubmaker, to build its custom clubs. White will continue to work for Scratch, the company said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Buteau in Atlanta at mbuteau@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net.