Utah’s three participants in the Utah Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour have not done so well so far.
So how about if we included Taylor Montgomery, the co-leader after three rounds, as an honorary utahn for the week. After all, he has won a major tournament in Utah, the Sand Hollow Open, twice, has taken part in the Provo Open, played a few rounds in St. George and is staying at his uncle’s house in Riverton this week.
The 26-year-old Las Vegas native fired a 9 under par 62 on Saturday to catapult himself to the top at 18 under 195 along with Peter Uihlein, who this year split his time between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. Round one co-leader Joshua Creel is one shot back to 196, while Englishman Callum Tarren is 197 and round two leader Bobby Bai is tied with Nick Cole at 198.
It would be a life changing event for Montgomery if he won on Sunday as he finishes his first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour. Winning the first prize of $ 108,000 would cement his Top 25 status and earn him his PGA Tour card for the next season. It would also make him a winner for the first time.
“I’ve been a loser for the past two years so it would be nice to get one up,” he said with a smile.
Montgomery played collegially at UNLV and turned pro shortly afterwards. He played where he could, including the Sand Hollow Open in Hurricane 2018 and 2019 and the Provo Open 2019 when he tied eighth.
“It was a really fun round. I took a lot of good shots today and knew it would be a lower one if I made it around the hole and I putted really well. ”- Taylor Montgomery
He earned a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour thanks to a qualifying round in St. George, among other things, and did well in 2020. He was in the top 25 at the end of the season which would have earned him a spot on the PGA Tour, except that due to the shortened COVID-19 season, the PGA decided to make it an 18 month season, including 2021 events with those of 2020.
Montgomery came in at number 29 on the scoreboard in the Utah tournament. After vacationing in Colorado last week, he decided to use a caddy he knows well and his father Monte was on his pocket this week.
After rounds 67 and 66 and a tie for 10th place, Montgomery got off to a hot start with a birdie on the first hole and an eagle on the second hole. A birdie on the fourth hole put him 4-under, where he made the turn. His putter heated up on the back nine with birdies at 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, and 17.
He was in good shape to take a 61, but his drive at 18 went into the right rough and he left himself with a 75-foot putt when he hit the green. It ended 5 feet to the right and his par putt slipped out.
“It was a really fun lap,” said Montgomery. “I hit a lot of good shots today and knew it would be a lower one if I could get around the hole and I putted really well.”
Uihlein, 31, is a former U.S. amateur champion who has participated in 88 PGA Tour events over the past five years and earned more than $ 2.5 million. He made the decision last month to end his season on the Korn Ferry Tour to fight his way back on the big tour and is currently ranked 30th.
Former BYU golfer Patrick Fishburn arrives at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington during the Utah Championship of the Korn Ferry Tour on Saturday, August 7, 2021. Randy Dodson, Fairways Media
Utah’s Patrick Fishburn, trying to secure a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour next year by moving from 82nd to the top 75, shot 3 under par 68 but only moved up one place to a tie 55th place with 205.
Fishburn, who had to birdie on his last hole on Friday to make the cut, had three front nine birdies and added birdies at 10 and 15 on the back nine before bogeying number 16.
The former BYU golfer finished 24th at the 2018 Utah Championship with 269.
The other two Utah golfers in the tournament, Farmingtons Daniel Summerhays and Drapers Rhett Rasmussen, both missed the cut on Friday after scoring 2 under par.
Mike Sorensen is a contributor to Deseret News.
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