University of Washington's Taylor Named World's Top Amateur


Nick Taylor

The Royal and Ancient (R&A) Golf Club of St. Andrews has announced that Washington Husky senior golfer Nick Taylor is the third recipient of the Mark H. McCormack Medal. The award is given to the world's top-ranked amateur golfer at the conclusion of the amateur season following the U.S. and European Amateur championships.

Taylor, from Abbottsford, B.C., has spent the past 13 weeks as the World Amateur Golf Ranking's top-ranked player. He ascended to the top spot in June after winning the U.S. Open sectional qualifying at Suncadia's Tumble Creek course.

Taylor strengthened his resume by finishing the U.S. Open as the low amateur; he ended up in 36th place. He shot a second-round 65, tying for the lowest score by an amateur in Open history.

This summer, Taylor also won the Sahalee Players Championship in Sammamish, Wash., and finished runner-up at the U.S. Public Links Championship at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla.

Taylor is coming off an All-America season in which he was named the Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year after registering a school-record four victories.

Matteo Manassero finished runner-up to Taylor as the world No. 2. The 16-year-old Italian became the youngest-ever winner of the British Amateur as well as becoming the Silver Medalist in the British Open.

Previous winners of the award are New Zealand's Danny Lee (2008) and the United States' Colt Knost (2007).