Taylor Montgomery hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course – North Course. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
Taylor Montgomery is becoming a model of consistency. The rookie has recorded eight top-15 finishes in nine starts this season and looks poised for another strong showing this week at Torrey. Montgomery followed up a first-round 67 with a 71 on Thursday and is part of a logjam tied for fourth. It’s brought a lot of new-found attention his way.
“I mean, the phone’s going crazy, I just want to throw it in the ocean sometimes,” he said, noting he’s doing his best to respond to all the texts but shuts it down during the tournament. “I feel like golf is so mentally exhausting. Then to go home, you kind of just want to sit back and watch a movie or TV show.”
Montgomery was in the trophy hunt late on Sunday at the American Express when he shanked his tee shot into the water at “Alcatraz,” the famed island green at 17 at PGA West. For the first time, he addressed whether his nerves got the better of him.
“I had just had a bad swing thought,” he said. “I felt completely comfortable, but it was the right pin, I knew I kind of needed to make a birdie. Instead of having my normal swing thoughts of like what I need to do, all I was thinking was oh, let’s squeeze it in there, let’s squeeze it in there, and I ended up squeezing it right in the middle of the lake. It was definitely a lesson learned.”