Golf
Taylor Montgomery: Biography, Career, Net Worth, Family, Top Stories for the PGA Tour Standout
Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sports7. Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes. In addition to his work here at Sports7, Luke's work has appeared on The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.
All posts by Luke NorrisUpdated18 Sep 2023
Despite growing up around the game of golf, it took Taylor Montgomery some time to truly commit himself to the sport. But once he did, the Nevada native excelled at every level, and he's now one of the fastest-rising golfers on the PGA Tour.
A two-time state champion in high school and a one-time winner at the college level, Montgomery struggled a bit early in his professional career but eventually became one of the top players on the Korn Ferry Tour. Despite never winning a tournament at the developmental level, he recorded five runner-up finishes and 14 overall top-10s.
Now a full-time member of the PGA Tour, Montgomery has put himself in position to win 2022-23 Rookie of the Year honors and figures to be a top contender for years to come.
But just who is Taylor Montgomery? Below, you'll find everything you need to know about this rising star, from his upbringing on one of the most high-profile courses in the country to his wild Korn Ferry Tour heartbreak to his statistics and career earnings — and everything in between.
Article Contents
- Quick facts
- Early life and high school
- College
- Korn Ferry Tour career
- PGA Tour career
- Majors performance
- OWGR history
- Playing style
- Caddie
- Family
- Net worth and career earnings
- FAQ
Quick Taylor Montgomery facts
- Full name: Taylor Allen Montgomery
- Birthday: Jan. 30, 1995
- Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada
- Parents: Mikella Montgomery and Monte Montgomery
- Siblings: Mckenzie Montgomery
- Listed height: 6-foot-3
- Listed weight: 215 pounds
- High school: Foothill High School (Henderson, Nevada)
- College: University of Nevada-Las Vegas (2013-17)
- Turned pro: 2017
- Marital status: Single
- Children: None
Where did Taylor Montgomery grow up and play high school golf?
The first-born child of Mikella and Monte Montgomery, Taylor Montgomery was born on Jan. 30, 1995, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and attended Foothill High School in nearby Henderson.
Despite his father being a former professional golfer and the longtime director of golf at Shadow Creek Golf Course, one of the most high-profile and expensive public courses in the country, Montgomery admits he was “never into golf” as a youngster as he was more interested in other sports, such as basketball and football.
Montgomery would often see high-profile athletes from those other sports at Shadow Creek, athletes such as Michael Jordan and Jerome Bettis, and it was seeing how much they enjoyed golf that drew him “towards the game a lot more.”
Montgomery lettered in golf all four years at Foothill High and won the 4A boys individual state title as a sophomore in 2011 and again as a senior in 2013. And he found time to enjoy his other interests, as well. He was a starting forward for the basketball team in each of his final two years.
Where did Taylor Montgomery go to college?
Upon graduating from Foothill High in 2013, Montgomery followed in his father's footsteps and played college golf at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV), even playing for the same coach, Dwaine Knight. He also teamed with fellow future PGA Tour player Kurt Kitayama.
As a freshman, he appeared in nine tournaments and recorded three top-20s, including a third-place finish at the Jackrabbit Invitational, where he tied a school record for the lowest round ever shot by a freshman with a 65. That was the lowest round of any member of the team that year.
Montgomery notched his first collegiate victory the following year, winning the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational, one of four top-20 finishes during his sophomore season.
Despite his early success at UNLV, Montgomery played just two tournaments as a junior as he developed issues off the tee and struggled even to keep the ball in play. His father had always encouraged him to essentially swing as hard as he could, and he found himself flipping the clubface at impact. Things got so bad that he often kept his driver in the bag, instead opting to tee off with a long iron.
As golf wasn't going so well, Montgomery nearly attempted to join the UNLV basketball team, which was dealing with several injuries to players and was looking for an athlete to fill out the roster. Montgomery had kept himself in basketball shape, so he strongly considered it but was told by Knight that if he did so, his time on the UNLV golf team would be over.
Montgomery opted to stick with golf and began working with Dallas-based instructor Jon Sinclair, who helped him vastly improve his game off the tee. Taylor found himself back in the starting lineup as a senior and was one of the key reasons the Rebels advanced to the team match-play portion of the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, where they lost to top-seeded Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals.
Montgomery graduated in 2017 with a degree in communications.
Taylor Montgomery Korn Ferry Tour career
Despite turning pro in 2017, Taylor Montgomery didn't make his Korn Ferry Tour (then the Web.com Tour) debut until 2018. It's not that he wasn't playing professional tournaments, but he mainly played mini-tour events at that time. He helped bankroll his career by winning the Major Series of Putting, taking both the individual and team titles.
After playing seven combined events during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he earned full-time status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2020 season, which ended up being two seasons rolled into one due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And the decision to roll 2020 results over into 2021 actually cost Montgomery his PGA Tour card as he would have qualified under normal circumstances.
At the end of the extended campaign, Montgomery fell one spot short of the top-25 cutoff for both the regular season and the KFT Finals. But in 2022, he left nothing to chance, finally securing his spot on the PGA Tour for the 2022-23 season before the Korn Ferry Tour regular season even ended.
Taylor Montgomery 2018 Korn Ferry Tour (Web.com Tour) season
Montgomery made his Korn Ferry Tour debut in August 2018, tying for 14th at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, California. One week later, he missed the cut at the WinCo Foods Portland Open.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae | T14 | -13 |
| WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz | CUT | +6 |
Taylor Montgomery 2019 Korn Ferry Tour season
Montgomery played four official Korn Ferry Tour events in 2019, missing the cut in three of them. Despite his struggles, he tied for 13th in the KFT Qualifying Tournament, securing his spot on the tour for the following season.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS | T52 | -6 |
| Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship | CUT | +10 |
| KC Golf Classic | CUT | +6 |
| Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank | CUT | +1 |
| Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament | T13 | -15 |
Taylor Montgomery 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season
After just six events, the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season was suspended for more than three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When play resumed, it had already been announced that the 2020 season would be merged with the planned 2021 campaign and that there would be no graduates to the PGA Tour for the 2020-21 season.
That decision directly affected Taylor Montgomery, who would have been one of those 2020 graduates as one of the top 25 players. Once the extended 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season finally concluded, he astoundingly finished 26th in both the regular season and the KFT Finals, missing out on securing his PGA Tour card by one spot in each instance.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay | T19 | E |
| The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at Baha Mar | CUT | E |
| Panama Championship | T24 | -3 |
| Country Club de Bogota Championship | 57 | -4 |
| LECOM Suncoast Classic | 3 | -21 |
| Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass | CUT | +8 |
| The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village | CUT | -5 |
| TPC San Antonio Challenge at the Canyons | T12 | -16 |
| TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks | T58 | -1 |
| Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper | CUT | -2 |
| WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz | CUT | E |
| Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco | CUT | -1 |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | T2 | -10 |
| Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance | CUT | +3 |
| Evans Scholars Invitational | T21 | -10 |
| Wichita Open Supporting Wichita's Youth | T16 | -11 |
| Savannah Golf Championship | T10 | -17 |
| Orange County National Championship presented by Knight 39 | T11 | -17 |
| LECOM Suncoast Classic | T2 | -13 |
| Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS | T33 | -6 |
| Club Car Championship at The Landings Club | T46 | -7 |
| Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin | T42 | E |
| MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute | CUT | +7 |
| Veritex Bank Championship | CUT | -5 |
| Huntsville Championship | CUT | +6 |
| Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation | T37 | -3 |
| AdventHealth Championship | T26 | -9 |
| Evans Scholars Invitational presented by First Midwest Bank | T24 | -4 |
| BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation | T32 | -13 |
| Live and Work in Maine Open | CUT | -1 |
| TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes | T22 | -9 |
| Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS | CUT | -3 |
| Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper | CUT | -2 |
| Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank | T2 | -22 |
| Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna | CUT | +3 |
| Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron | T26 | -11 |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | T18 | -11 |
| Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance | CUT | +11 |
Taylor Montgomery 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season
With a strong 2022 Korn Ferry Tour campaign, Taylor Montgomery positioned himself to finally secure his spot on the PGA Tour before the KFT regular season ended by tying for second at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. It was one of two runner-up finishes for Montgomery on the season and one of nine top-10s in 17 starts.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay | WD | +12 |
| The Panama Championship | T47 | +3 |
| Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard | T13 | -11 |
| LECOM Suncoast Classic | CUT | -2 |
| Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS | T15 | -10 |
| Lake Charles Championship | T9 | -12 |
| Club Car Championship at The Landings Club | CUT | -1 |
| Veritex Bank Championship | T4 | -19 |
| Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation | T13 | -10 |
| Visit Knoxville Open | T4 | -16 |
| AdventHealth Championship | 2 | -15 |
| NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank | T8 | -17 |
| The Ascendant presented by Blue | CUT | E |
| Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper | T2 | -22 |
| Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna | T3 | -15 |
| Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron | T4 | -20 |
| Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | T9 | -9 |
Taylor Montgomery PGA Tour career
Taylor Montgomery made his PGA Tour debut in July 2019, missing the cut at the Barracuda Championship in his home state of Nevada.
His next start came at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2022, the same course where his father made his lone PGA Tour start in 1994. Taylor's goal that week was to beat his dad's T24 finish, and he did just that. With Monte on the bag, the younger Montgomery shot 12-under to tie for 11th.
Montgomery earned full-time status on the PGA Tour in 2022 and got off to a great start, finishing 15th or better in eight of his first nine events, including a pair of top-fives.
Taylor Montgomery 2018-19 PGA Tour season
Montgomery made his PGA Tour debut at the 2019 Barracuda Championship in Reno, shooting 5-over to miss the cut.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| Barracuda Championship | CUT | +5 |
Taylor Montgomery 2020-21 PGA Tour season
Montgomery's lone PGA Tour-affiliated appearance outside the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020-21 was at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which was also his first appearance in a major championship. With rounds of 70 and 76 the first two days, he made the cut on the number and ultimately tied for 57th at 10-over, 16 shots behind winner Jon Rahm.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Open | T57 | +10 |
Taylor Montgomery 2021-22 PGA Tour season
Montgomery appeared in the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and performed well, shooting 12-under to tie for 11th. He also qualified for the U.S. Open for the second consecutive year but missed the cut at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, shooting 72-73 to miss the weekend by two shots.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| Farmers Insurance Open | T11 | -12 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | +5 |
Taylor Montgomery 2022-23 PGA Tour season
Taylor Montgomery began his first full-time PGA Tour season with a bang, finishing in solo third at the Fortinet Championship. He followed it up with another top-10 at the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks later and finished 15th or better in six of his next seven starts, including a solo fifth at The American Express.
That's about where the success ended, though. Beginning with the RBC Heritage, Montgomery missed six cuts in a span of 10 events to put an end to the positive momentum he'd been generating.
| Tournament | Finishing position | Score to par |
|---|---|---|
| Fortinet Championship | 3 | -13 |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | T9 | -12 |
| Shriners Children's Open | T15 | -15 |
| THE CJ CUP in South Carolina | T13 | -9 |
| World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba | T10 | -16 |
| Cadence Bank Houston Open | T57 | +5 |
| The RSM Classic | T15 | -13 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | T12 | -12 |
| The American Express | 5 | -24 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | T31 | E |
| WM Phoenix Open | CUT | +4 |
| The Genesis Invitational | CUT | +2 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | T39 | +1 |
| The Players Championship | T44 | -3 |
| WGC-Match Play | T17 | N/A |
| Valero Texas Open | T22 | -6 |
| RBC Heritage | CUT | +2 |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | T19 | -19 |
| Wells Fargo Championship | CUT | +6 |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | T50 | -11 |
| PGA Championship | T65 | +12 |
| The Memorial Tournament | T41 | +4 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | +6 |
| John Deere Classic | CUT | +5 |
| Scottish Open | CUT | +2 |
| 3M Open | CUT | -1 |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | T37 | -5 |
| Fortinet Championship | CUT | E |
Taylor Montgomery majors performances
Taylor Montgomery has played just two major championships thus far, with both appearances coming at the U.S. Open.
Taylor Montgomery Masters performances
Taylor Montgomery has yet to appear in The Masters.
Taylor Montgomery PGA Championship performances
Taylor Montgomery made his first appearance in the PGA Championship in 2023 at Oak Hill.
| Year | Pos | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Score to par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | T65 | 75 | 70 | 76 | 71 | +12 |
Taylor Montgomery U.S. Open performances
Taylor Montgomery has appeared in the U.S. Open on three occasions. He tied for 57th at Torrey Pines in 2021, missed the cut at The Country Club in 2022, and missed the cut again at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023.
| Year | Pos | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Score to par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | T57 | 70 | 76 | 74 | 74 | +10 |
| 2022 | CUT | 72 | 73 | - | - | +5 |
| 2023 | CUT | 71 | 75 | - | - | +6 |
Taylor Montgomery Open Championship performances
Taylor Montgomery has yet to appear in The Open Championship.
Taylor Montgomery Official World Golf Ranking
Taylor Montgomery's first entry in the Official World Golf Ranking was in August 2018, following his debut on what was then the Web.com Tour. Following a T14 finish, he ranked 1,557th.
In January 2020, he dropped to his lowest point, No. 1,937, following a missed cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas. However, just three weeks later, Montgomery cracked the top 1,000 in the OWGR for the first time, jumping to No. 843 after a third-place finish at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Florida.
In August 2020, he cracked the top 500 for the first time, jumping from No. 713 to No. 466 after tying for second at the Korn Ferry Tour's Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in Ohio. Montgomery broke into the top 100 in the OWGR for the first time in September 2022, following a third-place finish in his 2022-23 PGA Tour season debut at the Fortinet Championship, jumping from No. 136 to No. 91.
Montgomery reached his highest point, No. 51, in January 2023 following a T31 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open and is currently ranked 70th.
- Current rank: No. 70
- Lifetime high: No. 51
- Lifetime low: No. 1,937
Taylor Montgomery playing style
The biggest strength of Taylor Montgomery's game has always been his putting.
In fact, only a few months after turning pro in 2017, he won the Stroke Play Championship at the inaugural Major Series of Putting tournament in Las Vegas, a 10-day event that earned him the first-place prize of $75,000. Winning the team portion of the tournament with UNLV teammate Kurt Kitayama earned him another $15,000. And those winnings helped Montgomery in the early stages of his professional career.
Montgomery is currently viewed as one of the best putters on the PGA Tour, ranking at or near the top in several putting categories.
Despite his past troubles off the tee, Montgomery has developed into a solid driver of the golf ball, at least in most aspects. He consistently averages more than 305 yards off the tee, easily ranking in the top 50, but sometimes struggles with accuracy. That's also one of the main problems with his iron play, which is easily the weakest part of his game.
Taylor Montgomery caddie
Taylor Montgomery's current caddie is Darren Woolard, who was the longtime looper for four-time PGA Tour winner and Las Vegas native Scott Piercy.
Taylor Montgomery family
Montgomery is the first-born child and the only son of Mikella and Monte Montgomery. He has one sister, Mckenzie, who was born in March 1998.
While little is known about Mikella Montgomery, Monte Montgomery, like his son, played college golf at UNLV and made one PGA Tour appearance at the 1994 Buick Invitational of California (now the Farmers Insurance Open) at Torrey Pines.
After getting through Monday qualifying, Monte shot 70-71-68-70 to finish at 9-under, tying for 24th. Monte later became the director of golf at Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas, one of the most high-profile and expensive public courses in the United States.
Taylor Montgomery is currently unmarried and has no children.
Taylor Montgomery net worth and career earnings
Playing parts of four seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, Taylor Montgomery made $676,974. His highest-earning campaign was his last, which came in 2022.
Montgomery has earned close to $2 million during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. His largest career paycheck was the $552,000 prize he received for his third-place finish at the 2022 Fortinet Championship.
Taylor Montgomery Korn Ferry Tour earnings
| Season | Earnings |
|---|---|
| 2018 | $10,200 |
| 2019 | $1,486 |
| 2020-21 | $311,768 |
| 2022 | $353,520 |
| Total | $676,974 |
Taylor Montgomery PGA Tour earnings
| Season | Earnings |
|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $0 |
| 2020-21 | $25,183 |
| 2021-22 | $180,180 |
| 2022-23 | $2,629,522 |
| Total | $2,834,885 |
Per Genius Celebs, Taylor Montgomery has a net worth of approximately $1.2 million.
Taylor Montgomery FAQ
Taylor Montgomery was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to parents Mikella and Monte Montgomery.
Born on January 30, 1995, Taylor Montgomery is 28 years old.
Taylor Montgomery is 6-foot-3.
Taylor Montgomery attended Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada, from 2009 to 2013. He lettered all four years in golf and was also a starting forward on the basketball team from 2011 to 2013.
Taylor Montgomery played college golf at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) from 2013 to 2017.
No, Taylor Montgomery has not yet won on the PGA Tour. His highest finish was a solo third at the 2022 Fortinet Championship.
Taylor Montgomery's current caddie on the PGA Tour is Darren Woolard.
