Moving to a different country can be very difficult for many reasons. The transition can be tough.
But for North Idaho College freshman golfer Angus Montgomery, the transition couldn’t have gone much smoother, at least on the golf course.
Montgomery, from Middlesbrough, England, has earned first or second place in six out of the eight invitationals he has competed in, dating back to the fall season. Three have been first place finishes. He has shattered multiple NIC records and is ranked fourth in the NJCAA in scoring average.
“We’ve had a couple of really good players that came through this program and he’s basically set fire to the record book, and has just started a whole new one,” NIC head coach Derrick Thompson said.
Montgomery is also a finalist for the Phil Mickelson award, which goes to the top freshman in the country.
Thompson said he’s had nine sub-par rounds.
“He’s played 18 rounds this year and half of them have been under par,” Thompson said. “That’s incredible.”
Montgomery has only been playing golf since he was about 15 years old. He is 21 now.
“I actually started golfing pretty late because I played soccer and rugby growing up and I was sprinting as well,” he said. “I started playing golf when I was like 15 and I just got hooked. I started playing with a couple of guys who are really good players back home and that really makes me want to get better.”
Montgomery said he wants to improve 0.1 of a shot every time at practice.
Montgomery hasn’t just experienced individual success this season, but team success as well. The mens team has won six out of its eight invitationals it has competed in this season heading into the most important event of the year.
The seventh-ranked mens team will head to Burlington, Iowa, May 13-16 to play at the NJCAA Division I National Championships.
“I expect him to prepare the way that he needs to and get himself ready to play in the tournament,” Thompson said. “That’s what I expect from him. His talent will take the rest.”
“We just got to go out and do what we do every single tournament,” Montgomery said. “I don’t think we should sort of build it up like it’s anything different.”
Coming from across the Atlantic Ocean, Montgomery obviously has noticed different things.
For one, he said the wind is more prevalent in England than in the Northwest, which makes golfing easier. Another thing he noticed is the difference in food.
“Panda Express,” he said. “I’m going to miss it so much.”
Montgomery also misses his family and friends back home.
“I’ve got a lot of good friends here, but it’s just strange being, not only like eight hours behind everybody, but also 6000 miles away as well,” he said.
One thing Montgomery has learned is “you get out what you put in,” he said. “If you work hard then good things happen.”
He is hoping “good things happen” in Burlington, Iowa, in about a week.
