Nick Taylor came to Pebble Beach ranked outside of the Top 200 in the world, and with a goal for the year of trying to shave off a quarter-stroke a round. To Taylor’s way of thinking, a quarter-stroke—or one stroke over the course of a full tournament—would make a massive difference in his stats over the course of a year.

But Taylor, 31, did significantly better at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one of the more notable PGA Tour events that is played over three courses, culminating with Sunday’s round at Pebble Beach, one of the world’s most famous courses. After opening with a 63 on Thursday, Taylor followed it with rounds of 66 and 69 to hold the lead heading into Sunday. Taylor said he was a fan of Pebble Beach and its small greens.

“It’s definitely an iconic course, but it’s one of my favorites,” he said. “I played well there [on Saturday], so I can draw back on that again.”

He did just that becoming the first Canadian to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a final score of 19-under par. He took home US$1.4-million with the win.

“That was amazing,” Taylor said after the round. “I believed I could do it because I’ve done it before, but to do it in that fashion, playing with Phil, has to give me a lot of confidence going forward.”

The Chase

But Taylor wasn’t alone. Lurking behind him in the final round were some of the game’s biggest names—Phil Mickelson and Jason Day. Many thought Taylor—whose only win came at the start of his PGA Tour career in 2014—would fold under the pressure. And for a bit it looked like that might be the case. After opening up a four-shot lead on the back nine during the final round, Taylor made consecutive bogeys, followed by a disastrous double-bogey on the 14^th to allow Mickelson, and a charging Kevin Streelman to make up ground, especially as swirling winds made the course extremely challenging.

Key Moments

On the 15^th hole, Taylor came up just short of the green and then chipped in for birdie to compensate for the double-bogey on the previous hole. When Mickelson made bogey on the 16^th hole, and Taylor stuffed a six-foot birdie putt into the hole on 17, the Canadian was on cruise control with a commanding lead heading into the par-5 18^th. With his wife and infant son Charlie watching, Taylor played safe on the final hole, making five to finish the tournament at 19-under par with a four-shot lead.

How Taylor Got It Done

Taylor, the former top amateur in the world, isn’t long—he is likely one of the shorter hitters in the field, but his putting was exceptional. He had 2.154 strokes gained putting in the final round, an indication of how well he putted throughout the week.

WITB

Driver: TaylorMade M2, (9.5 degrees)
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Titanium (15 degrees)
Irons: TaylorMade SIM Max 4-iron, TaylorMade P770 4-5 iron, P750 6-PW
Wedges: TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges (52,56 & 60 degree)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Red
Ball:TP5

Win with SIM

WIN FOR SIM. Congrats Nick! Next TaylorMade SIM Metalwood win, and all other up to the U.S. Open will prompt a weekly $1,000 TaylorMade product prize.