Ex-UNLV golfers compete at Major Series of Putting

Former UNLV golfers Taylor Montgomery and Redford Bobbitt hadn’t even heard of the Major Series of Putting until the day before qualifying.

Now the pair stand to make a healthy profit from the event.

A text from Montgomery’s father Monte alerted the two ex-Rebels to the event, which runs through Nov. 5 at a temporary stadium on the Strip behind Planet Hollywood Resort. Montgomery signed up right away, and by Sunday night he earned a big check, winning the six-round Stroke Play Championship to claim the top prize of $75,000.

“I had no idea what this thing was three days ago,” Bobbitt, who golfed with UNLV from 2013-16, said. “It’s been fun. We’ve been here the last three days all day so we’re learning the course.”

Montgomery, a Henderson native and former Nevada high school state champion at Foothill, was the Rebels’ lone senior last season and finished his college career with an average score of 73.90.

He still lives in town, caddying with Bobbitt at Shadow Creek Golf Course, while chasing his dreams of playing professional golf. He tried to earn his PGA Tour card at its qualifying school this year but was unsuccessful.

”Q School is probably toughest thing to do in golf,” Montgomery, 22, said. “I just have a little flaw in my game with ball striking. When it’s on, it’s on but when it’s off it’s too far off where I can’t compete at the highest level.”

One thing that is consistent in Montgomery’s game though is his chipping and putting, which bodes well for him over the next week.

“If I had $10,000 and I had to (bet on) someone to make a putt, it would be him,” Bobbitt, 21, said. “We kind of joke, if I could drive it and hit it, and then he chips it and putts it, we’d be unstoppable.”

Bobbitt, a Del Mar, California, native who played his senior season at Arizona, turned professional in September and is hoping to compete on the Canadian or Web.com tours. He at first wasn’t going to compete at the Major Series of Putting with Montgomery, feeling his putting had been off recently, but he signed up with his friend and soon found himself also in line for a payday at the event.

Bobbitt finished in a tie for 11th in the Stroke Play Championship and won $5,725.

“They did a really good job with (the event),” Bobbitt said. “It’s a little different. Putting for money is not something we’re super unfamiliar with. It’s just a matter of trusting your stroke and hoping it goes in.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow@BenSGotz on Twitter.