Nicholas Alexander Taylor (born April 14, 1988) is a Canadian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. After turning professional in 2010, Taylor has won on the PGA Tour four times, including becoming the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since 1954, which he did in 2023 at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club.
In 2007, at the age of 19, Taylor won the Canadian Amateur Championship at the Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon, defeating Michael Knight in two playoff holes.[5] At the 2007 U.S. Amateur at the Olympic Club, Taylor won the 51st seed and advanced through three rounds of the tournament, including defeating future PGA golfer Jamie Lovemark. Taylor was defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual champion Colt Knost.[6]
In the May 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Taylor finished tied for second in the individual competition with Jorge Campillo, three strokes back of champion Kevin Chappell. Taylor's Washington Husky's team finished in seventh place.[7][8] He was named an Honorable Mention for the GCAA Division I PING All-America Team.[9] In 2008, Taylor qualified for the U.S. Open, in which he missed the cut by three strokes.[5][10] In the July 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links, Taylor finished as the runner-up to Brad Benjamin.[11] He also finished T53 at the 2008 RBC Canadian Open with a final score of −1. In the 2008 Canadian Amateur, Taylor finished in ninth place with a final score of −2.[12]
In the May 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Taylor finished the individual competition tied for ninth place, while his Washington Husky's team finished tied for third place.[13] He was named on the Division I GCAA All-America Team with future PGA golfers Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel.[14] He qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, where he made the cut, carding a 65 in the second round, the record for lowest by an amateur in major's history.[15] He finished tied for 36th, being the lowest amateur of the championship.[16] Taylor won the July 2009 Sahalee Players Championship.[17] In the 2009 Canadian Amateur at Blainvillier Golf Club, he finished tied for 3rd with a final score of −5. He also became the number one world amateur golfer according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In September 2009, he won the Mark H. McCormack Medal for being on top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking after the U.S. Amateur.[18]
In his final amateur year in 2010, Taylor finished 41st at the May 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, while his Washington Husky's team finished in fourth place.[19] He was named a Ping First-Team All-American for the second season in a row, along with Washington teammates Chris Williams and Richard H. Lee.[20] Taylor was eliminated from the U.S. Amateur in the first round by Chan Kim.[21] In the 2010 Canadian Amateur, Taylor finished tied for 33rd at +3. He won the 2010 Ben Hogan Award for the top men's collegiate golfer, and also won his second consecutive Pac-10 Golfer of the Year award.[22]
Taylor turned professional in late 2010, making his professional debut at the October Russell Brewing VGT Tour Championship on the Vancouver Golf Tour.[23][24] He played on PGA Tour Canada from 2011 to 2013, compiling 10 top-10 finishes in 25 starts. In 2013, he finished 7th on the Order of Merit and earned an exemption into the final stage of the Web.com Tourqualifying school, where he finished 11th to earn status for the 2014 season. He finished 69th in the 2014 Web.com Tour regular season, then 23rd in the Web.com Tour Finals to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season.
2014–15 PGA Tour season: inaugural season and first victory
Taylor made his first start in the 2014–15 PGA Tour season at the January Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Kapalua Resort. He finished at −6, securing a tie for 29th place. In November 2014, Taylor achieved his first victory on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship, hosted at the Country Club of Jackson, finishing with a score of −16.[25] Taylor's win was the first on the PGA Tour for a Canadian-born player in seven years, following Mike Weir's victory at the 2007Fry's Electronics Open.[25] Taylor qualified for only one major, competing in the 2015 PGA Championship. He finished with a score of +4 and tied for 68th place. In his inaugural season on the PGA Tour, Taylor competed in 28 events, making 17 cuts, with two top-25 finishes, and one win. At the conclusion of the FedEx Cup race, Taylor finished at 101st place with 613 FedEx Cup points, and finished the season with $1,072,360 in prize money.
2015–16 to 2018–19 PGA Tour seasons: limited success
In his second season, the 2015–16 PGA Tour season, Taylor made his best finish at the March Puerto Rico Open, finishing at −10 and in a tie for 5th place, marking his only top-20 finish. Taylor did not qualify of an majors during the year, and was cut from the Players Championship. In the 2015–16 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 26 events, making 16 cuts with five top-25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 129th with 441 FedEx Cup points, and won $628,756 in prize money.
In the 2016–17 PGA Tour season, Taylor made his first top-10 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, finishing −8 and tied for 10th place. Taylor made his second top-10 finish of the season at the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing −6 and tied for eighth, his best finish for the 2016–17 PGA Tour season. His third top-10 finish came only a few weeks later at the AT&T Byron Nelson, finishing at −7 and tied for ninth, and his final top-10 finish came at the Greenbrier Classic, finishing −9 and tied for ninth place. For the second season in a row, Taylor failed to qualify for any major championships. In the 2016–17 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 29 events, making 20 cuts with eight top-25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 93rd with 554 FedEx Cup points, and won $1,255,259 in prize money.
In the 2017–18 PGA Tour season, Taylor started out hot finishing tied for 9th in the Safeway Open with a final score of −9. He followed that up with a tied 13th at the CIMB Classic, and tied 23rd at the CJ Cup. Taylor struggled in the middle of the season missing six consecutive cuts between March and May 2018. He made one more top-10 finish at the Wyndham Championship with a final score of −15 and tied for 8th place. Taylor failed to qualify for any major championships. In the 2017–18 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 30 events, making 17 cuts with six top-25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 123rd with 420 FedEx Cup points, and won $899,373 in prize money.
In the 2018–19 PGA Tour season, Taylor finished his fifth tournament of the season, the 2018 World Cup of Golf in Australia, tied for 4th place with a final score of −17. He had only one other top-10 finish on the season, finishing tied for 9th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a final score of −19. Taylor failed to qualify for any major championships. In the 2018–19 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 28 events, making 21 cuts with four top-25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 102nd place with 408 FedEx Cup points, and won $892,663 in prize money.
2019–20 PGA Tour season: second victory
In the 2019–20 PGA Tour season, Taylor finished the Safeway Open at tied for 10th place with a final score of −11. In February 2020, he entered the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a one shot lead over Phil Mickelson. Taylor shot a final round 70 in windy conditions and won the tournament by four strokes over Kevin Streelman with a final score of −19. The win was his first full-strength tournament victory on the PGA Tour, and his second overall. The win qualified him for his first Masters Tournament. A month later, the PGA Tour season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the season pausing after the first round of the 2020 Players Championship. Taylor had shot an opening round 73, and was tied for 98th when the tournament was cancelled. In his first tournament after the season pause, Taylor finished tied for 48th at the Workday Charity Open with a final score of −3. In his major championship appearance at the 2020 PGA Championship, his first since 2015, Taylor did not make the cut finishing +9 after two rounds. In the 2019–20 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 18 events, making 11 cuts with three top-25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 48th place with 741 FedEx Cup points, and won $1,897,539 in prize money.
2020–21 to 2021–22 PGA Tour season: limited success
In the 2020–21 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in his first Masters Tournament, finishing tied for 29th with a final score of −3. He experienced limited success in the season, finishing tied 11th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, tied 20th at the Genesis Invitational, and tied 48th at the 2021 Players Championship. At the Wyndham Championship, the final tournament of the season, Taylor made his only top 10 finish, tied for 10th with a final score of −13. In the 2020–21 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 29 events, making 18 cuts with three top 25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 141st place with 370 FedEx Cup points, and won $862,159 in prize money.
In the 2021–22 PGA Tour season, Taylor had his best finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at tied for 14th place with a final score of −11. In the 2021 US Open, Taylor was cut after the second round with a score of +5. In the 2021–22 PGA Tour season, Taylor competed in 28 events, making 16 cuts with four top 25 finishes. He finished the FedEx Cup race at 134th place with 334 FedEx Cup points, and won $832,637 in prize money.
2022–23 PGA Tour season: victory at Canadian Open
In the 2022–23 PGA Tour season, Taylor started hot with a tied 6th place finish at the opening Fortinet Championship with a score of −11. He made his second top-10 finish of the season at the Sony Open in Hawaii, finishing tied for 7th with a final score of −13. In February 2023, Taylor finished runner-up at the WM Phoenix Open, two shots behind Scottie Scheffler with a final score of −17. This result also moved him to his highest world ranking at 73rd.[26] Taylor and fellow Canadian teammate Adam Hadwin finished runner up at the April Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with a final score of −28, two strokes behind the team of Nick Hardy and Davis Riley. In the 2023 PGA Championship, Taylor was cut after the second round finishing at +7.
Taylor won his third career tournament at the June RBC Canadian Open, at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club. In the third round, Taylor scored a tournament low 63, and fourth round a 66 to finish for a tie for first with Tommy Fleetwood. In the playoff, both golfers birdied the first, and parred the second and third holes. On the par-5 fourth hole, Taylor holed a 72-foot putt for eagle to win. He became the first Canadian citizen to win their national open since 1954, and the first born in Canada to win it since 1914.[27]
2024 PGA Tour season: victory at the WM Phoenix Open
After a slow start to the 2024 PGA Tour season that saw him finish 52nd or worse in three of his first four events, Taylor picked up his fourth career victory at the WM Phoenix Open in a playoff over Charley Hoffman with a birdie on the second playoff hole.[28]
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↑ Ziemer, Brad (June 3, 2008). "Abbotsford golfer bound for U.S. Open; Nick Taylor won one of two spots from field of 27 hopefuls". Vancouver Sun. p.C5. ProQuest243867268.
↑ Cole, Cam (June 23, 2009). "Course was Taylor-made for experience; Nick Taylor slips to a pair of closing 75s on tough Bethpage Black, but was still the tournament's low amateur". Vancouver Sun. p.D2. ProQuest243967898.
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