Three for three. Abbotsford, BC’s Nick Taylor came from behind at the Sony Open in Hawaii for his third PGA Tour win in a playoff. He earned $1.566-million for the win.
Taylor’s fifth win came in improbable fashion, and after a slump for much of the last year. Taylor carded a 5-under 65 on Saturday to move him into contention, but still four shots short of leader JJ Spaun. On the par-70 course, Taylor had a marginal front nine, and certainly didn’t look like he’d be in contention at the end. But with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, Taylor found himself 3-under for the round and chasing the leaders, Spaun, Nico Echavarria, and Stephan Jaeger, who shot 62 in the third round.
Taylor put himself in a strong position in the middle of his back nine, with short birdie putts on consecutive holes starting on the 15th. But he failed to convert either, and it looked probable that he would fall short, especially with Echavarria charging to the finish. “It was a tough day,” Taylor said. “I was 1-over through 7 and not thinking of winning. I got on a birdie streak there, and then I missed two short putts on 15 and 16. I was a little down after those two missed putts cause I felt like it was tricky with the wind.”
But Spaun bogeyed the 17th hole, and couldn’t make birdie on the reachable closing par-5 and closed at 15-under, while Echavarria birdied the 16th and 18th to finish at 16-under. That left Taylor two shots back hitting his approach into the par-5 finishing hole. After finding the fairway on the 18th, Taylor had 240-yards into the green and his drawn iron went through the green long and left, leaving him a delicate chip after getting relief from the nearby stands. His chip from the short grass just off the green ran into the cup, leaving Taylor at 16-under, tied with Echavarria and entering another playoff.
Whatever it is in his makeup, Taylor isn’t flustered by playoffs. He notably beat Tommy Fleetwood in Toronto to win the Canadian Open, and didn’t seem bothered at the Sony, returning to the 18th and holing a 10-foot putt for birdie on the first playoff hole, matched by Echavarria. But on the second playoff hole, Taylor overcooked his tee shot, landing in a bunker. But Echavarria hit a perfect drive, and after Taylor caught his sand shot heavy and looked slight despondent, it appeared like the win might be slipping away. But Taylor deftly chipped to two feet and Echavarria’s eagle putt, from near the spot where Taylor holed his in regulation, came up 8 feet short. When he couldn’t convert that putt, he handed Taylor a very unlikely win.
“I didn’t play 18 the second time exactly as I saw it,” Taylor said after the round. Why does he have such success in playoffs? Taylor isn’t sure: “I feel like I can rise to the occasion. I’m a bit stunned that it worked out this way.”
It was a heartwarming win after Taylor’s struggles in recent months, including being left off the Presidents Cup team, which was played in Montreal on his home turf. Perhaps Taylor has once again turned a corner, as he’s demonstrated in the past. “It was a tough six or seven months,” Taylor said, with his wife and two children alongside him in Hawaii. “For my wife and my family to support me and lift me up—it makes it all the sweeter.”
What’s in the bag
Driver: Titleist TSi3 (10 degrees)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
5-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max (18 degrees)
Hybrid: Titleist TSR2 (21 degrees)
Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9 degrees)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10, 54-14), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (58)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Red
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x