Kim Moore stands out among the rest of the field of golfers at the Lawrence Futures Classic.

It’s not because she shot an amazingly low score in Friday’s first round, not because of a whopping tee shot or precise long-range putt.

It’s because she is standing, but only with the help of a prosthetic leg.

Moore was born without the bottom half of her right leg.

“I’ve had it since I was born, so I’m kind of used to it by now, and it doesn’t stop me from doing too much,” Moore said.

Moore was born with no right foot and a club left foot that needed surgery. With such a condition at an early age, a career in athletics didn’t appear to be in Moore’s future.

“The doctors didn’t know if I’d walk; my parents didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Moore said. “Twenty-four years later, I’m playing golf.”

She also is coaching golf. Friday’s round was her first tournament of the season because Indiana University-Fort Wayne — where she is the assistant coach — just completed its first NCAA golf season.

Even before coaching, she hoped basketball — her favorite sport — would be in her future. She was able to run up and down the court and keep up with the rest of the players on the court, but once she got in high school, other players were too fast for her to keep up.

Golfer Kim Moore chips onto a green during the first round of the Lawrence Futures Classic. Moore, who has been fitted with a prosthetic leg, shot an opening 73 on Friday at Eagle Bend Golf Course.

Moore said she tried not to allow her prosthetic leg to be a hindrance to her golf career, but that it did create some obstacles.

“Sometimes it hurts me with my balance, which balance is a big part of golf,” Moore said.

She also said that it made it difficult to make it through entire rounds of golf. Her left leg gets tired due to the weight she has to shift upon it to keep her balance, as well as carry the seven-pound prosthetic along.

But it wasn’t too much of a problem for her Friday. She shot an opening 73. Moore said it wasn’t a bad start for a first round of golf for the season.

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