Nick Taylor’s thoughts were not on winning the golf championship when he stepped off the seventh green on Sunday, one over for the round and five strokes behind.
He believed it was over when he missed consecutive 4-foot birdie shots on Nos. 15 and 16. And he had a glimmer of optimism, but not much more, as he stood on the 18th tee in regulation, 2 strokes behind the lead.
He was still in disbelief, therefore, when he sat down in the media centre at the Sony Open in Hawaii a few hours later, the trophy to his right and a floral lei around his neck.
“I’m a little surprised that it turned out this way.” Taylor said.
He ought to be.
When Taylor took the 18th tee box at Waialae Country Club, his odds of winning were a pitiful 0.4%. According to Data Golf, it’s a 1/250 chance to win. However, Taylor is gifted in these situations, and with some shaky golf surrounding him, the Canadian hero put on another incredible show.
In order to jump to 16-under and tie Nico Echavarria for the lead, Taylor chipped in for an eagle from behind the 18th green. As final-group players Stephan Jaeger and J.J. Spaun shot late bogeys to eliminate themselves from contention, the playoff matchup that appeared to be feasible all day long collapsed.
Taylor outlasted Echavarria on the second playoff hole after both of them made birdie on the first one. Echavarria three-putted from 39 feet to lose, while Taylor hit his pitch shot stiff with the pin for a comfortable birdie.
Taylor’s victory is his 5th PGA TOUR championship overall. He has won in the playoffs 3 times in a row. He defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff in the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, and he defeated Charley Hoffman at the WM Phoenix Open the previous year.
“I simply believe that I am capable of handling the situation.” Taylor said.
Being a reliable closing in professional golf is challenging. The majority only wish to enter as many contests as they can and hope that the odds are in their favour a few times. The percentage play is that. Every PGA TOUR competition has a lot of factors that influence the result, including a good deal of chance. However, aside from Scottie Scheffler, Taylor has demonstrated the ability to close better than any player in recent memory when he is in those circumstances.
Taylor has advanced to the last round of the Sony Open in Hawaii this week for the 6th time in his career. Out of those six competitions, he has won four.
“I like to be in those situations. For whatever reason, while I’m attempting to hit a shot, my mind becomes clear.” Taylor said.
Taylor’s achievement on Sunday was especially noteworthy considering the events of the past several months. Taylor had only managed one top-10 finish since winning the WM Phoenix Open in February, and that was at the two-man team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Apart from that, his golf game dwindled. He was not driving the ball well enough to compensate for his lack of feel with the putter. Taylor pushed and his game took a different turn as he felt pressured to play for his home country of Canada’s Presidents Cup International Team. He was left out of one of Mike Weir’s captain’s selections, and he was forced to watch from home as one of the most important golf tournaments in Canadian history went on without him.
“It was more my fault; I felt that I had placed Mike in a difficult position.” he said.
“The six or seven months were difficult.” He added.
Additionally, Taylor did not place in the FedExCup’s top 50, which left his schedule uncertain about how many Signature Events he would play. That is no longer a worry. Taylor won, earning him entry into the PGA Championship, the Masters, and the 7 remaining Signature Events. In the Official World Golf Ranking, he shot up from 73rd to 29th place. He is currently ranked 2nd in the FedExCup.
It seems sense that Taylor adds the Sony Open in Hawaii to his trophy case if he is going to become the PGA TOUR playoff king. Something about Honolulu’s calming sun, warm sand and roaring waves must be lulling the annual game into a crowded lot.
The Aloha State’s gorgeous weather appears to be as certain as a packed scoreboard at Waialae. This year’s Sony Open in Hawaii ended in a playoff for the 4th time in the tournament’s history, with the previous six ending in 1-shot victories. Spaun and Jaeger, who started hot out of the gates but combined for just one birdie on the back nine, contributed to the congestion at the top of the leaderboard, which attracted a number of chasers into the tournament, including Taylor. At the start of Sunday’s windy final round at Waialae, fifteen players were within 3 shots of the lead, and no player held more than a one-shot lead coming down the back nine.
Taylor made 4 consecutive birdies from Nos. 8–11 after playing the 1st 7 holes 1-over, 3 of which were putts within 10 feet. However, he almost lost the tournament because of the putter. He believed his hopes were dashed when he missed 2 nearly gimme-length birdies on 15 and 16.
“I believed I had very little chance of winning if you had asked me at the time.” Taylor said.
But with the leaders stumbling ahead of him, Taylor’s closing eagle was enough to make the playoff with Echavarria, who made a clutch birdie putt right after Taylor’s hole-out to keep the tournament going.
Echavarria had the lead following their 2nd strokes on the first and 2nd playoff holes. On the first playoff hole, he was inches from the rough greenside, and on the 2nd, he was putting from the fringe. Meanwhile, beneath the green surface, Taylor was left with 2 fragile downwind chips. Taylor kept the playoffs alive with a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole. He then made the tournament-winning putt with his second pitch shot, which he dropped to 3 feet.
“I did a pretty good job of just persevering every day, and luckily for me, great things came to pass in the end.” Taylor said.
Frequently, they do for Taylor. He is responsible for his own luck.
