Ex-UNLV golfer returns to PGA Tour after battling shoulder injury

Taylor Montgomery can’t remember going more than three days without playing golf since he got serious about the game in seventh grade. That’s what made this spring so difficult for the Las Vegas-based PGA Tour player.

Montgomery hadn’t played since withdrawing from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson after the first round the first week of May because of shoulder issues.

“I probably played four times in the last two months,” Montgomery said Thursday after finally getting back on the course at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “I’ve been practicing a little bit, but it’s been so small. I haven’t been grinding as hard as I could.”

Despite the rust, Montgomery got off to a terrific start in Detroit. The former UNLV player opened 65-68 and was in second place after both of the first two rounds.

“That’s what’s so frustrating about this game,” he said. “I’ve played from seventh grade all the way up to the last two months and have played pretty much every day, giving it my all trying to be here. You go through the ups and downs and then the last two months I haven’t worked hard at all on my game because I haven’t been able to. Come out and shoot 7 under, like what the hell? Like how is that possible? Like it’s so weird.”

Montgomery played himself out of the tournament with a third-round 77, but he rebounded Sunday with a 70 to finish at 8 under in a tie for 44th, winning $29,164. Not bad for someone who wasn’t sure he could even tee it up last week.

“It was a last-minute decision. I didn’t know how well the shoulders would hold up and stuff,” he said. “Swinging driver is the main issue. Like when I was swinging a driver, my right shoulder’s the worst one, but it’s the left one that hurts bad when I swing.”

He now has two months left to try to climb from 99th in the FedEx Cup standings to reach the top 70 and qualify for the playoffs. And with one tournament under his belt, he’s hopeful the confidence in his game comes back.

“I was more nervous than I have been on the golf course in forever just because I felt so unprepared,” he said of his first round. “The putter’s the only club that always feels the same to me, or at least has for the last five years. Everything else, like the first tee shot was super scary, but it was nice to feel those feelings again.”

Southern Nevada Am

Matt Mitchell made three birdies on the back nine Sunday to rally for a one-stroke victory over Phillip Reedy and Andrew Hawk in the Southern Nevada Amateur at Reflection Bay.

Mitchell shot rounds of 74-72 to finish at 2-over 146 to secure the title.

In the Senior division, Rick Sepp survived a closing double bogey to finish at 2 over for a two-shot win over Todd Roberts, and Steven Fink finished at 4 over to capture the Silver division by two shots over John Turk. Fink had built a lead with an opening 71 on Saturday, the only subpar round in the division.

Other winners included Bryan Carlon (Championship net), Michael Haas (Senior net) and George Yocum (Silver net).

State Match Play

Reno’s Nick Wood rallied from 4-down in the 36-hole championship match to beat Ethan Flynn 2-up at the Nevada State Match Play at Somerset Golf Club in Reno.

The event featured 29 golfers going head-to-head over four days in the heat.

Wood had reached the final with a 4-and-3 win over Ian Fritz, and Flynn knocked off top seed Jackson Parrish in 19 holes.

All-American scholars

Five UNLV players were named All-American Scholars by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association after maintaining a minimum 3.5 GPA last school year.

Returning players McKenzi Hall, Thienna Huyah, Mayumi Umezu and Toa Yokoyama received the honor, along with Maddie Laux, who graduated in May with a degree in elementary education.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.