A Mission College Preparatory senior signed his letter of intent to play golf for Cal Poly while enrolling in its Aerospace Engineering program this November, but he’s helping out the community in more ways than one.
Luke Montoya has been golfing since he was two years old. When a close friend of his was diagnosed with a rare disorder, he decided to utilize his love for the sport for good.
A few weeks after Luke's 11th birthday, his childhood friend was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Ronald McDonald House Charities accommodated the family while he received treatment. The Montoya's were inspired by the generosity of the RMHC and brainstormed ideas as a way of saying thanks.
“He spent a year at the Stanford Medical Center getting treated for it and the Ronald McDonald House Corporation, they took care of everything for his family," Luke Montoya, We Golf Fore Good Organization founder said. "(My organization) was a way to say thank you to them for just helping out my friend.”
Luke created We Golf Fore Good six years ago and makes its contributions to both the RMHC and One Tree Planted. The most recent golf charity event was held earlier this month on Dec. 2 at the Monarch Dunes course in Nipomo. Pledgers donated a certain amount of money per birdie made on the course.
“On that day we raised about $40,000 or so off of 32 birdies and we had the entire families all come out, we had a few spectators as well coming up behind us who joined in on the event, so that was kind of fun," Montoya said.
We Golf Fore Good has raised $134,200 for families in the community and has helped plant 18,100 trees in California. The team today includes 18 junior golfers, 12 committed to playing golf at a Division I school. Luke is glad he gets to stay close to home.
“I love this area and I wouldn't really want to leave," Montoya said. "When I got an offer from Cal Poly I jumped at it almost immediately. It's kind of been a little bit of a dream to stay home.”
“Luke had a great reputation all around the state, and he'd even played internationally before I arrived here (in 2020)," Phil Rowe, Cal Poly Men's Golf Head Coach said. "My first real encounter with Luke was at the Nipomo Amateur, which is a big tournament locally.”
Cal Poly extended an offer to Luke his junior year after coach Rowe was impressed with both his 4.6 GPA and his love for the game. Lucky for the Mustangs, Cal Poly has an Aerospace Engineering program and Luke learned how to fly before he could drive.
“I just said we’d love to be an option for you and I think that Cal Poly and Aerospace Engineering will be a nice fit for you," the Stanford golf alumnus said. "He chose that path and we're delighted with all that he’ll bring.”
Luke received his pilot's license on his 16th birthday and his driver's license a few days later. He is now a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight West.
“Angel Flight provides medical transportation and transports medical supplies," the future Mustang said. "So pilots will just pick up a route and they can fly patients, non-critical patients and medical supplies to wherever they need to go across the west coast.”
Montoya said he gets his love for giving back to the community from his parents, who provide clothing and school supplies to their village back in the Philippines.
For ways to donate to We Golf Fore Good, you can find their website here.
