Maiden PGA Tour winner BLASTED over voyeurism past by former LPGA pro

Former LPGA Tour pro Anya Alvarez says it's 'hardly surprising' Taylor Moore is being celebrated for his maiden PGA Tour win and not his chequered past.

Ben Smith

21 Mar 2023

Maiden PGA Tour winner BLASTED over voyeurism past by former LPGA pro

Former LPGA Tour pro Anya Alvarez says it's 'hardly surprising' Taylor Moore is being celebrated for his first tour win and 'not really being examined' for his chequered past.

Moore captured his maiden PGA Tour title at the Valspar Championship last week.

His final round of 4-under 69 at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead course was enough for a one-stroke victory over Adam Schenk, who endured calamitous tree trouble when it looked as if he was heading to a playoff.

Moore, 29, took home $1.46m for his first PGA Tour win.

But in the immediate aftermath of victory some golf fans brought up the fact he previously admitted a misdemeanor charge of voyeurism whilst he was at the University of Arkansas.

It happened in 2015 when Moore was 21 years old. He was fined $1,000, told not to have contact with the victim and was not ordered to register as a sex offender.

Another golfer, Nico Echavarria, who was 20, was swept up in the case.

Charges against Echavarria, from Colombia, were dropped.

Incidentally, Echavarria captured his maiden PGA Tour win a few weeks ago at the Puerto Rico Open.

Moore was initially charged with video voyeurism, which is a felony, but prosecutors reduced the charge as part of a plea bargain.

Reported Ron Wood of Whole Hog Sports in 2015:

"Moore and Nicolas Echavarria, 20, were arrested just before the NCAA Yale Regional in New Haven, Conn., in mid-May. Both were suspended indefinitely from the golf team and didn't participate in the tournament. Arkansas didn't advance from the regional.

"The woman told police on April 11 she consumed multiple alcoholic drinks at various bars on Dickson Street in Fayetteville and then ran into Moore and Echavarria, whom she described in the report as friends.

"She said she went to two other places with the pair, then because she was too intoxicated to drive, she and another friend accepted a ride from Moore and Echavarria. According to the women, they dropped off her friend and then took her to Moore’s house.

"The woman told police she passed out and then awoke in the car several times. She said she was under the impression she would spend the night at Moore’s house, then be given a ride home in the morning.

"The woman said she kept falling asleep, then waking up on the couch and recalled being carried into Moore's bedroom. The woman said while in the bedroom, she recalled seeing a flash of light and suspected Moore took photos of her."

After Moore's victory, a number of golf fans discussed the case on social media.

Including former LPGA Tour pro Alvarez, who posted:

I do think people can change and grow, and learn from their mistakes, but the way Taylor Moore is being celebrated for his first tour win, and not really being examined for taking sexually explicit photos of an intoxicated woman is not surprising pic.twitter.com/z4tluaKEMd
— Anya Alvarez (@anya__alvarez) March 21, 2023