Bellinghamgolfer.com

Apart from the odd pro-am, Mike Montgomery had played very little competitive golf this year - certainly none of the events considered majors among members of the PGA's Pacific Northwest Section. The head pro at Bellingham Golf and Country Club therefore headed to the PNWPGA Professional Championship at Canyon River GC in Missoula, MT unsure of what to expect of himself. Despite hitting it well in practice, he didn't know how he might react in the heat of competition. "I actually felt great about my game going in," says Montgomery. 'But I had some questions about how I would compete since my schedule hadn’t allowed me to play in any big tournaments this year."
A first round four-under 68 on the 6,935-yard Lee Schmidt/Brian Curley-designed course put him in a tie for sixth, three shots behind leader Jerry Johnson, a 53-year-old teaching pro from Ocean Shores. It was a great start, but there were still 36 holes to play and the field was crammed with the names of successful tournament golfers from all over the Northwest - Jeff Coston, Chuck Milne, Rob Gibbons, Scott Erdmann, Ryan Malby, Ryan Benzel, Brian Thornton - Washington and Oregon Open champions, players with PGA Tour experience and a couple (Coston and Benzel) that had played in major championships...actual major championships.
Montgomery, a letter winner at the University of Washington in 1991, '92 and '93, and a 1992 Pac-10 All-Academic award winner, shot a two-over 74 in the second round to drop into a tie for 15th, seven shots behind co-leaders Coston from Semiahmoo and Erdmann from Oswego Lake in Oregon. He now needed something special in the final round if he was to finish in the top seven and qualify for the 2011 PGA Professional National Championship to be played at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, PA next June. Drawing on previous competitive experience, he produced another four-under 68 - enough to haul him up into a tie for seventh alongside Corey Prugh (PGA Tour player Alex's brother), four shots behind Coston who won his eighth PNWPGA Professional Championship title with a closing 71. "Luckily, in the final round, I was able to settle myself down and stay focused," says Montgomery who adds that he's already looking forward to the national championship. "I'm very excited and cannot wait to get to the big dance in Pennsylvania."
Congratulations Mike!
Final scores here.
(We'll talk more with Mike about his accomplishment tomorrow.)