Nick Taylor hits big shots when it really matters.
He did it as a junior golfer and in college en route to becoming the top-ranked amateur in the world before graduating to the PGA TOUR, where the Abbotsford native has won five times.
Taylor did it again in his recent Presidents Cup debut at Medinah Country Club in suburban Chicago. No one should have been surprised. Taylor, in his quiet, unassuming way, has a history of pulling off big shots in high-pressure moments.
Remember that 72-foot putt to win the 2023 RBC Canadian Open? Or when he birdied the 18th hole at TPC Scottsdale three times on Sunday — twice in a playoff —to win the 2024 WM Open? And then there was the time he went head to head with Phil Mickelson in the final round and won the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Geoff Ogilvy remembered and Taylor’s proven ability to perform under pressure was one of the main reasons the International team captain selected him to the squad. Taylor did not disappoint, earning two-and-half points for the Internationals. He also struck one of the shots of the event when he stuck his 9-iron approach shot from 151 yards to within a foot of the 18th hole to allow Taylor and his partner, fellow Canadian Corey Conners, to knock off world No. 1 Scott Scheffler and partner Sam Burns in their foursomes (alternate-shot) match on Friday.
“I have wanted to play in this event for a long time and to go out with a good friend and teammate and win it in that fashion against the world No. 1 and Sam Burns was awesome,” Taylor said in a phone interview. Their upset win over Scheffler and Burns, and Taylor’s big shot on 18, got lots of attention during Golf Channel’s post-match analysis where Rich Lerner, Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley all remarked on Taylor’s propensity to perform in clutch situations.
Joel Dahmen, a PGA TOUR regular and Taylor’s roommate at the University of Washington, posted the following about Taylor on X after that match: “It’s in his DNA. Works his butt off and I’ve never beaten Nick at anything in 20 years. Dude closes.”
Taylor relishes being in those big moments. He was extremely disappointed two years ago when fellow Canadian and International captain Mike Weir did not select him to the Presidents Cup team. It is not a stretch to suggest that snub provided Taylor with some extra motivation at Medinah. “I’ve always enjoyed being in those moments and I’m confident that I can pull off those shots in big moments,” he said.
After a couple of days to reflect on his Presidents Cup experience, Taylor described what he called an incredible week. He sat out the opening round on Thursday and Taylor said he’d known he wasn’t going to play that day well in advance. He said that allowed him to settle in. “I was on the first tee-box for every match on Thursday, so I got to feel the nerves, the excitement and just soak up the atmosphere,” Taylor said.
“We don’t get to experience that kind of an amphitheatre too often on tour so it was good for me. I was able to do a little practise that day and support my teammates. It was a nice thing for me in my first year to maybe not be thrown into the fire immediately.” That came the next morning when Taylor and Conners faced Scheffler and Burns, who are ranked No. 1 and 8 in the world.
“It was nice to know the captain had confidence in us, had faith that we could challenge them and win,” Taylor said. When he struck that 9-iron on No. 18, Taylor said he initially wasn’t sure how close he had hit it. “But I got a sense from the reaction of our team, the wives and some of our teammates behind the green, that is was pretty close.”
After dropping their Saturday morning four-ball match 2&1 to Chris Gotterup and Cameron Young, Taylor and Conners performed more heroics on Saturday afternoon, when they rallied from being three-down through 10 holes to beat Jacob Bridgeman and Russell Henley in their foursomes match.
“We knew they had it in them,” Ogilvy said of the comeback win by his Canadian duo. “Two Canadians sticking together, we knew it would be a good, comfortable pairing and exciting for both of them to represent this team with another Canadian by their side.” The only disappointing part, of course, was the ending. The Internationals led 10.5-7.5 heading into Sunday’s 12 singles matches and what would have been a huge upset looked quite possible.
Taylor went out in the second to last singles match against Henley, a player he has known well since his college days. Taylor was running various scenarios through his head as he prepared for his match. Maybe the Internationals would clinch the Cup before his match finished. Or perhaps he could register the winning point.
Unfortunately, the Americans came out swinging and painted the leaderboard red. They collected nine-and-a- half points from the Sunday singles to win 17-13. Taylor earned a half-point for his hard-fought tie with Henley. He was approaching the 18th hole when he realized the Americans had clinched the Cup. It was a disappointing ending to a week he will never forget.
“We obviously knew we were up against a very, very talented team,” Taylor said. “It was disappointing because we felt like we were so close to making a little history. But I know we are all proud of the fight we put up, even though it didn’t turn out the way we had hoped.”
Apart from that disappointing ending, the Presidents Cup was everything Taylor hoped it would be. Along with his wife Andie and their two children, his parents, in-laws and brother were all there to share it with him. There are certain moments he will never forget. “The week is so busy and you spend a lot of time with the other 11 guys, the caddies, wives, captain and assistants. You become a family and the camaraderie just builds as the week goes on.
“You just don’t get that kind of experience very often, where you get that close to a group of people and you’re all striving for the same goal. I will remember the bus rides with the team and many other little things that made the week so special.”
Taylor hopes his first Presidents Cup won’t be his last. He’ll be 40 when the next matches are played in 2028 in Melbourne, Australia and Taylor knows he will have to play well the next two years to play his way onto the team.
“Now that I have experienced it, I want to be part of it again,” he said. “This definitely gives me a boost of motivation to get back on that team in two years.”