Taylor on Cloud Nine after First Win


Nick Taylor called the situation very "surreal" when he realized he'd recorded his first victory after just a handful of outings on the PGA Tour. The 26-year-old Canadian closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday to win the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.

The University of Washington grad, who in 2009 won the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked amateur in the world, finished at 16-under 272, two strokes ahead of Boo Weekley and Jason Bohn.

Despite the Abbotsford, B.C., resident was playing in only his 13th start on the PGA Tour and just his fourth this year, the win represented the first time a Canadian won on the tour since Stephen Ames in 2009.

The victory was worth $720,000, 300 FedEx Cup points and a two-year exemption on the tour. Taylor qualified for the PGA Tour this year by closing with a dramatic 63 in the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Taylor, who set a U.S. Open mark by posting the lowest score by an amateur when he shot a 5-under 65 during the second round at Bethpage Black, felt something was up in Sunday's final round at the Country Club of Jackson. "I knew I was playing well. I wanted to get off to a good start and I did. Birdied the first hole. Made a good putt and got the confidence going.

"And the second hole I actually made a really good par putt from five or six feet to kind of keep that going. From there, I wanted to hit as many greens as possible, because I felt like he was rolling it really well."

Fellow Canadians David Hearn (tied for 14th) and Adam Hadwin (T-73) were around to celebrate the victory with Taylor, who often rooms with Hadwin, a native of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, who now lives in Abbotsford.

"It's great," Taylor said of the closeness of his countrymen. "We're staying together this week. Adam had such a great week. I've been rooming with him a lot, it was awesome to see. And I saw David Hearn as well and he had a great year last year. So, yeah, it's fun for us all to kind of get together and root for each other. So it's nice."

In addition to being the first Canadian to win on tour in five years, Taylor became the first University of Washington graduate to win since George Bayer at the St. Petersburg Open Invitational in 1960. Taylor won four tournaments for the Huskies during his stellar collegiate career.

After signing his scorecard and accepting the winner's spoils Sunday, Taylor met with reporters for the following Q&A.

MODERATOR: We'll get started. Nick, congratulations on your victory at the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship. Very well played. Very well earned. 6 under 66 today in the final round. You came from behind and got the job done. And with all that said, just some comments on being the latest PGA Tour winner.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it's a weird feeling for sure. It's something, you know going into the day, I felt good about my game. But until it happened, you didn't really expect it or kind of know it's very surreal. I putted unbelievable today. Putted great the first two days. Yesterday, struggled a bit, but worked on it last night. And the putts seemed to drop my way. I had a few good bounces today. And everything just kind of came together today. I tried to I just needed to do what I was doing and stay out of my on way. It was a great day.

MODERATOR: All right. With that we'll open it up and take some questions.

Q. Have you ever had a day like that with your putter in a final round?

NICK TAYLOR: Probably not. The last round of Web.com finals, at Sawgrass, it was one of those days where I wasn't there, I think I had 7 or 8 birdies. Everything I looked at I was making. Actually, made a very similar putt for par. That round was for 17, this was for 16 year. So I was kind of looking back on that round as well, but, yeah, today was definitely a day that I've never really had in a final round in that situation, for sure.

Q. What was going through your mind today on back nine?

NICK TAYLOR: I knew I was playing well. I wanted to get off to a good start and I did. Birdied the first hole. Made a good putt and got the confidence going. And the second hole I actually made a really good par putt from five or six feet to kind of keep that going. From there, I wanted to hit as many greens as possible, because I felt like he was rolling it really well.

I didn't really have a goal, I thought if I wanted to at least get to 14. I knew I would have to shoot under par to beat everyone or at least me. So once I had it going on, I wanted to keep making as many birdies as possible until the last hole. I knew that they were still at 14 and I knew that once I was hitting the par putt on 18, just lining it up there. If it went in, great, just a tap in for bogey and force them to hole out on 18.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Unbelievable. I called my wife and she's in tears. She doesn't know what's going on. I don't really know what's going on either. She's going to be in tomorrow. We're going to Mexico together. It's very exciting. I didn't expect it this early, obviously. I always had the belief that I could win. It really sets up the rest of the year with the fast start. And it's very surreal, yeah, for sure.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: It was really, the putter was the biggest issue. I felt like I was hitting it decent and just getting nothing out of my rounds. I shot a 71, could have been 67 or could have been a 65 with a day like today. And those rounds where you kind of have to ground it out where 75 is a 70. So it was frustrating. I thought I was playing well and wasn't getting anything out of my rounds. And I started putting well around Boise, which is just I think five, six tournaments left in the year and kind of rolled that in the playoffs and it extended there. So, yeah, it was mostly the putter and that's where it really turned around.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it's unbelievable. Graham De Laet and David Hearn played awesome out here the last few years. Adam is, obviously No. 1, was coming in here and he's played great. So it's kind of following in the footsteps, Mike Weir, growing up watching him. So, again, it's kind of hard to believe that I'm in that category and it's exciting for Canadian golf.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: I would say seven or eight feet.

Q. What happened on that first putt?

NICK TAYLOR: All day, I obviously hit it too hard. It was in the shadows. A lot of people around the shadows. I got tricked up on 18 as well. Left that probably seven or eight feet short. So it was one of those where you know your position, just try and hit it as close as I can and I hit it too hard, obviously, but it was a great putt to make and kind of kept the momentum going.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, for sure, I knew - I had seen, I think, Jason Bohn was through 17 and at 14 under. I didn't see what John Rollins was. So I wanted to hit it close, but again I didn't want to blow it by again. I guess that was the thought. Because I did that on 16. So I left it short. But I knew that putting my par putt today they're both through 17 at 14 under, I thought if I posted up there, obviously they would have to hole out on a difficult hole, though, so that was kind of my mindset.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: It was awesome. It was the first time I've been out here. I played the pro am Monday, which was huge for me to see the golf course early. And the greens, honestly, were faster on Monday than they were this week. But you really had to be under the hole and if you were above the hole you were putting defensively. And I felt like I was reading them well all week. I had the green book, it's really helpful on the greens. Just worked on speed and everything just kind of lined up. But tee to green I loved it. It fit my eye. A lot of holes from right to left that I tend to draw it, so it just really setup for me. I enjoyed it all week.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah. Yes.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I like it. So far, so good.

Q. (No Microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. One event left and this is the only first week after a break, so I'm fired up. I might as well play some other events.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Obviously, yeah, it certainly opens doors for many possibilities that I wouldn't have had with a top 10 or whatever. It helps my status this early in the year. So now, being able to pick schedule and kind of pick where I want to play, and kind of know where I want to play, and obviously, now, with over the two year exemption, it's, it's very surreal. Obviously, starting the year, just trying to get as high up in the re shuffle and play as many events as possible and you know, to take advantage of this is pretty amazing.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I didn't think I thought about someone at 17 for sure, 16. Start of the day, with John at 14, I thought 16 would probably be pretty close. Obviously, he had been playing great, but to keep that up, that would be tough, and if he did, kind of hats off to him, but, so when I got it going I just wanted to keep making as many birdies as possible and I was able to do that. Starting the week, the greens were so fast that it was, it was, I thought if you got to in the mid teens, I thought it would be very good.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: I did not. No. That's the point, I guess.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: She was at work. Came home. I was running all around, so I wasn't able it talk to her for 20 minutes or so. She was anticipating a call. So, yeah, she's very excited and I'm happy to see her tomorrow. Unfortunately, she wasn't there for my first win, but hopefully she will be out here for more and more to come.

MODERATOR: Speaking of your schedule, one of the perks of this win here is that you now have Hawaii to look forward to. Is that something that's even registered or are you going to take advantage of it?

NICK TAYLOR: It won't. Before this week I was like I would have to play well to get into Sony, so now I got two weeks there. So, yeah, it hasn't hit me yet for sure. It won't for a little bit. But definitely excited.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I've been there quite a bit in college playing golf. The big island, Kona, and I've been to Oahu also. So excited to go back. It will be fun.

MODERATOR: All right. Well, Nick, congratulations on your win.

NICK TAYLOR: Thanks very much.

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.