Page 52 - Las Vegas Golf & Leisure Fall 2021

GOLF

Montgomery’s story received national attention because he
qualified for and made the cut at the U.S. Open, but it actu-
ally worked against him when it pertained to securing his
PGA TOUR status. Montgomery was forced to miss a Korn
Ferry Tour event that week and the chance to earn valuable
points. Many believe Korn Ferry Tour players should earn
some kind of bonus points if they qualify for the open or
similar event.

“I think they'll change that, for sure,” Montgomery says.
“Because I know a lot of guys on the Korn Ferry Tour who
didn’t play in the U. S. Open qualifier because they would
miss out on the points. One of them was Curtis Thompson.
Well, he played Dayton and finished second that week of
the Open. Looking back at it now, that's how he got his card.
He's a good buddy of mine and now he's playing on the PGA
TOUR.” When the rule changes, it should be known as the
“Montgomery Rule” moving forward.

Other players with strong ties to Las Vegas either play-
ing the Korn Ferry Tour or attempting to qualify though Q
School include Harry Hall, Alex Kang (LPGA Tour player
Danielle’s brother), Max Marsico, Brandon Bauman, Alex
Jordan, Peter Kuest, Brandon Smith, Matt Edwards,
Kevin Penner, John Oda, Shintaro Ban, Van Thomas, Zane
Thomas, Justin Suh, Andres Gonzales, Jack Trent and
Norman Xiong.

A Vegas player on the opposite end of the spectrum from
players attempting to make the Korn Ferry Tour or still play-
ing on it is major champion and 2021 United States Ryder Cup
team member COLLIN MORIKAWA. He entered the 2021
FedEx Cup Playoffs as the points leader, but faltered due to
poor play and some back trouble. Morikawa is known as one
of the best ball strikers on tour and during the Northern
Trust Open, the first playoff event, he shared some secrets
to his success. “Growing up, the way I practiced, I was prac-
ticing on the golf course, so I'd always hit different shots,”
Morikawa says. “I'd never just throw it on a mat. I grew up
at Chevy Chase Country Club, a 10-hole course. I remember
they had a net cage, and you could warm up and hit balls,
and that was pretty much the only place you could warm
up to hit balls. I would stand off to the side and create a
ball above my feet, even though it was a half-inch above the
ground, and I'd have one foot off. I remember a parent came
up to me and was like, ‘Why are you doing that?’ You're not
really practicing anything good, and it actually sticks out
to me now because, look, we're never going to get a flat lie. Collin Morikawa
We're always going to have to adjust. You're always going
to have to do something different. So, I think that's why me

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