Taylor Montgomery Lost a Million Dollars in Three Holes

Taylor Montgomery is a PGA Tour rookie who earned his card through the Korn Ferry Tour last year. This weekend he played in his first PLAYERS Championship, shooting 3-under for the tournament and finishing tied for 44th which won him $75,035.71. When presented like that, it doesn't sound so bad. Since there's a blog post about this, you know it can't be that simple. Plus, you've probably read the headline.
Yeah, Taylor Montgomery basically lost a million dollars over the course of three holes.
Montgomery drained a 77-footer on the 11th to move into a tie for fourth place. That moved him to 9-under for the tournament on the back nine on Sunday afternoon.
77-footer from Taylor Montgomery! 🤯
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023
He's now in T4 @THEPLAYERSChamp after 2 birdies in his last 4 holes. pic.twitter.com/hWnZt6RrqE
A few holes later he birdied the 14th and moved into a tie for third. Scottie Scheffler was already running away with the tournament at that point, but a top five finish and a million dollar payday looked like a real possibility with a little over an hour's walk to the clubhouse remaining.
Continuing to climb the leaderboard 😳
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) March 12, 2023
Taylor Montgomery moves into T3 through 14. pic.twitter.com/VoNLJprxxv
Unfortunately, he had to finish the round and couldn't just enjoy his stroll. Montgomery bogeyed the 15th, double-bogeyed the 16th and then came 17...
Taylor Montgomery finds the water twice on 17.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 12, 2023
+7 in three holes moves Montgomery from T6 to T44. pic.twitter.com/F0qvrInG34
Tee shot in the water. Chip shot in the water. Quadruple-bogey. In the course of three holes he had dropped 40 spots and lost about a million dollars.
Hopefully, Montgomery has a chance to redeem himself and his wallet this season. He's just 28 years-old and if he's good enough to be in contention through 68 holes, there's no reason he can't do it for a few more at another tournament. What an uplifting story that would be.