Alumnus: UCSD grad Moraghan played major role at Open

By Gregory Ball for La Jolla Light, June 25, 2008

Karen Moraghan didn't get to take home a gleaming, prestigious trophy like Tiger Woods did. And she didn't earn the adoration of fans like Rocco Mediate did. But Moraghan's efforts were just as important to the recently completed U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course as those of the winner and runner-up. Moraghan, who spent her college years just down the road from Torrey Pines at UCSD and graduated from the school in 1981, served as a key cog in getting information out to rabid golf fans and casual observers around San Diego County and throughout the world.

"It's like my old stomping grounds," Moraghan said. "It's been kind of fun to be able to show off this place. (Recently), I took a friend for a long walk on the beach through Del Mar and past Dog Beach and all the way up and around. It's been fun to be here. I get such a charge coming back."

Moraghan's company, Hunter Public Relations, was hired by the U.S. Golf Association (USGA) to run part of the media operations for the 108th U.S. Open. Moraghan and members of her staff, along with a handful of USGA staff members and volunteers, operated the "flash" media area at the event's massive media center, shuttling players through a battery of interviews for television, radio, print and electronic media after coming off the course following their rounds each day. Other members of her team distribute statistical information in the media center, escort players to and from the media room or assist writers and photographers on the golf course.

There were an estimated 1,200 media members in attendance throughout the week of the U.S. Open, from June 9-16. To serve them, Moraghan put in long hours during tournament week - usually 13-14 hours a day. On the Friday of the tournament, she expected to stay in the media center until midnight. "It's fun, because you know that each person working in a professional capacity, and each volunteer, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle," Moraghan said. "When it all comes together, it's like a well-oiled machine."

Moraghan, whose maiden name is Hunter, graduated from Third College (now Thurgood Marshall College) with a double major in communications and sociology and a minor in visual arts.
-----------------
Original article on the La Jolla Light web page at: http://www.lajollalight.com/sports/246154-ucsd-grad-moraghan-played-major-role-at-open