Montgomery leaves Vegas trash talk behind to lead Sonya
HONOLULU (AP) — PGA Tour rookie Taylor Montgomery quietly went about his work with a 4-under 66 on Friday for the early lead in the Sony Open, hardly looking like a guy who would willingly trash talk Michael Jordan.
He enjoys running his mouth for enjoyment. He is enjoying his job as a golfer.
Montgomery was in the top 15 in all but one of the PGA Tour events he participated in in fall. He carried that feeling into the new year by walking his way around Waialae, just a few miles from Waikiki Beach.
He was at 10-under 130. This was one shot ahead Hayden Buckley (64) et David Lipsky (66), amongst the early starters.
Montgomery was raised in Las Vegas. He played at UNLV. His time at Shadow Creek is what drew him away form basketball and football to become a golfer. He enjoyed watching athletes such as Jerome Bettis and Jordan.
He referred to him as “MJ,” and Montgomery was asked what Jordan called him.
“I don’t know if I can say that,” he said with a laugh.
It turned out that Montgomery was a teenager who caddied for Jordan in Shadow Creek’s high-stakes tournament.
“I was always trash talking to him,” Montgomery said. “He’s like, ‘Who the hell is that kid?’ Because I was yapping the whole time. My guy kept chipping in, making putts, and hitting it close. He was beating MJ pretty badly. But it didn’t go as planned.
“The back nine, MJ kind of did MJ stuff.”
Montgomery is polite to the point that Shadow Creek’s story becomes even more remarkable. Montgomery’s golf game is not a joke. He earned his card through Korn Ferry Tour and finished third in his first rookie event. Since then, he has been playing well.
He is already No. He is currently No. 12 in the FedEx Cup, and has already made almost $1.5 million in seven starts during his rookie season.
“I definitely feel like I could win at any time,” Montgomery said. “I hope to do that soon.”
Another stunning day saw great scoring and very little separation at high-level, even though half of the field was still playing during the afternoon.
Rory Sabbatini appeared to be among them for a long time. But then, it changed in a hurry. He made the turn and had three straight double bogeys — one tee shot that sailed out-of-bounds, shots on the next two holes into the water — shot 41 on the front and was headed toward a missed cut.
The Sony Open is the first full field event of the year. Only 19 players travelled from Maui to the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Since Friday’s first wave, only one of 10 top players has won on the PGA Tour.
Montgomery is making it through with his putting.
He is a strong driver and wedges are his strengths. He thought he had played a great round of irons on Thursday. However, he saw the statistics and realized he was at the bottom of the pack.
“I’m like, ‘How good are these damn guys with their irons?’ Just an area that I really want to improve,” Montgomery said. “I feel like I can get really good if I start hitting my irons really good. … It’s something I have been working on for a while. Just got to work harder.”
That was a lesson he picked up from another guy he once saw at Shadow Creek — Tiger Woods — though his first encounter with Woods was at a Mexican golf resort.
Woods was in Cabo San Lucas working on a golf course for the Diamante resort — with whom Montgomery has a sponsorship deal — and they were introduced. Montgomery received a meaningful message from Woods, despite the brief meeting.
“Hard work trumps everything,” Montgomery said.
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