Las Vegan earns promotion to PGA Tour after solid season

David Lipsky is officially headed to the PGA Tour this fall, but for other Las Vegans on the Korn Ferry Tour, there is more work to be done if they hope to make the jump this season.

Lipsky finished 12th on the season points list, giving him one of 25 promotions to the big leagues following the regular-season finale Sunday in Omaha, Nebraska. A winner on the European and Asian tours in the past few years, Lipsky will be a PGA Tour member for the first time.

Lipsky’s promotion Sunday was a formality. He had wrapped up his spot during a season in which he won in San Antonio and posted three second-place finishes, including at the MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute in April.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Lipsky said. “I’m looking forward to playing on the tour and being where I’ve always wanted to be since I turned pro and since I was a little kid.”

While Sunday was a day of celebration for Lipsky, it was one of heartbreak for Taylor Montgomery. The former UNLV standout missed his card by the narrowest of margins, slipping from 24th to 26th in the points race.

Montgomery was done in by an opening-round 77 on Thursday and a missed cut, leaving his spot vulnerable. His fate wasn’t sealed until the final hole of the tournament, when David Skinns made a miraculous par save to win by one shot and jump from 46th to 22nd to bump Montgomery.

But all isn’t lost for Montgomery, who has one more chance to join the PGA Tour next season. The top 75 on the Korn Ferry list and those who finished at Nos. 126 to 200 on the PGA Tour this season will play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals over the next three weeks, with the top 25 finishers over those events also earning PGA Tour cards.

Joining Montgomery in those events will be his former UNLV teammate Harry Hall, who finished 40th on the season list.

Hall is taking a positive attitude into the Finals, where he says the options are playing well and earning his PGA Tour card, or falling short and having a guaranteed spot on the Korn Ferry Tour next season.

“I’ll put my heart on the line. I’ll fight for every shot and no matter the outcome, I’ll continue my journey,” he told followers on his Instagram account.

For other players with Las Vegas ties, their picture isn’t so clear. Derek Ernst (118), John Oda (124), Alex Kang (135) and Andres Gonzales (172) failed to make the Finals and will have to return to the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament to try to earn a place to play in 2022.

Chip shots

— Riana Mission and Blake Schaper were honored this month as the top female and male high school golfers in Nevada as part of the USA Today High School Sports Awards. Mission, who won the 2019 state title while at Clark High School, will play this year at the University of San Francisco. Schaper, who won the Class 3A Southern Regionals title this year at Boulder City, will play for South Dakota State.

— Glenn Hogle birdied the 18th hole to shoot 1-under 70 and win the U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier at SouthShore Country Club. Gary Carpendale is first alternate after a 71. The tournament begins Aug. 28 at the Country Club of Detroit.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.