After matching Andrew Novak for the lead at 12 under after finishing his first round on Friday with an 11-under 60, Nick Taylor shot 70 in his second round.
At the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale, Taylor finished a record round shared with four other players after weather delays forced the opening round into Friday. With that, he tied Jim Gallagher Jr. at the 1993 Tour Championship for the biggest 18-hole lead in a PGA TOUR stroke-play event since 1983, with a five-shot lead.
Before facing a 40-minute turnaround into the second round, the Canadian completed everything over the course of two days. At 12:18 p.m. local time on Friday, Taylor finished his 11-under 60, the fifth competitive 60 at the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale. His second round was scheduled to start at 12:58 p.m. local time.
With over half of the field remaining to finish on Saturday, Taylor had a rough start to his second round before two birdies on the back nine put him back in a tie for the lead.
Novak finished with a 65 in the morning and added another 65 in the second round with a 4-under 31 on the front nine. In his second round, Doug Ghim was 9 under through 16 holes, while Maverick McNealy shot 67 to get to 10 under.
After a second-round 66, Scottie Scheffler stood at 8 under, with a chance to become the first player on the PGA TOUR to three-peat in the same tournament in thirteen years. After a 65, Justin Thomas was also tied with two other players at 8 under.
Due to the setbacks, the majority of the field was forced to start their second rounds in the middle, and Saturday’s forecast called for further rain.
Among Taylor’s three PGA TOUR victories in his career, the 2023 Canadian Open stands out the most. In the fourth playoff hole, the 35-year-old defeated Tommy Fleetwood with a 72-foot eagle putt, making history as the first Canadian to win his national open in 69 years. He will always be regarded as a national hero in Canada, and the larger Phoenix area is home to a sizable population of displaced Canadians, many of whom turned out on Friday morning to support their nation’s newest golf sensation.
Taylor, who relocated to the region soon after receiving his degree from the University of Washington in 2010, has become more at ease at TPC Scottsdale. At the WM Phoenix Open the previous year, he finished two strokes short of the world No. 1 after matching his final-round 65.
Taylor had a 40-minute turnaround before his next tee time after his record round, and he bogeyed the par-4 opening hole. On the par-5 15th hole, he missed a nine-foot birdie putt, but he recovered with a birdie on No. 10.
Novak ended with a first-round score of 65 on Friday morning, missing the cut in his first three tournaments of 2024. However, he was in the first group on No. 1 for the second round. At No. 17, he drove the green and made a two-putt birdie to take the lead at 12 under. He had four birdies to shoot 4-under 31 on the front nine.
