Nick Taylor

Nicholas Alexander Bruce Taylor (born April 14, 1988) is a Canadian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. After turning professional in 2010, Taylor has won on the PGA Tour five times, including becoming the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since 1954, which he did in 2023 at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club.

Taylor had strong junior, collegiate, and amateur careers, winning the 2007 Canadian Amateur Championship at the age of 19, the top 8 of the 2007 U.S. Amateur, and finishing as a runner-up in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. He was a two-time All American and Pac-10 Golfer of the Year for the University of Washington Huskies. As an amateur in the 2009 U.S. Open, Taylor carded the lowest amateur round in U.S. Open history with a second round 65, finishing tied for 36th with the honour of the low amateur of the major. He was awarded the 2009 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the leading player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and the 2010 Ben Hogan Award as the best college golf player in the United States.

Taylor played on PGA Tour Canada from 2011 to 2013, and on the Web.com Tour before graduating to the PGA Tour in 2014. In his inaugural PGA Tour season he won the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship, and picked up his second win in the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Early life and amateur career Taylor was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and moved to Abbotsford, British Columbia when he was three. His home golf course is Ledgeview Golf and Country Club where he started golfing at the age of 10. Taylor attended Yale Secondary School, where he and his teammates won back to back provincial championships. Afterwards he attended the University of Washington on a golf scholarship where he graduated with a degree in economics. At the 2007 U.S. Amateur at the Olympic Club, Taylor won the 51st seed and advanced through three rounds of the tournament, including defeating future PGA golfer Jamie Lovemark. Taylor was defeated in the quarter-finals by eventual champion Colt Knost.

In the May 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Taylor finished tied for second in the individual competition with Jorge Campillo, three strokes back of champion Kevin Chappell. Taylor's Washington Husky's team finished in seventh place. He was named an Honorable Mention for the GCAA Division I PING All-America Team. In 2008, Taylor qualified for the U.S. Open, in which he missed the cut by three strokes. In the July 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links, Taylor finished as the runner-up to Brad Benjamin. He also finished T53 at the 2008 RBC Canadian Open with a final score of −1. In the 2008 Canadian Amateur, Taylor finished in ninth place with a final score of −2.

In the May 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Taylor finished the individual competition tied for ninth place, while his Washington Husky's team finished tied for third place. He was named on the Division I GCAA All-America Team with future PGA golfers Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel. He qualified for the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, where he made the cut, carding a 65 in the second round, the record for lowest by an amateur in major's history. He finished tied for 36th, being the lowest amateur of the championship. Taylor won the July 2009 Sahalee Players Championship. In the 2009 Canadian Amateur at Blainvillier Golf Club, he finished tied for 3rd with a final score of −5. He also became the number one world amateur golfer according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In September 2009, he won the Mark H. McCormack Medal for being on top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking after the U.S. Amateur.

In his final amateur year in 2010, Taylor finished 41st at the May 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, while his Washington Husky's team finished in fourth place. He was named a Ping First-Team All-American for the second season in a row, along with Washington teammates Chris Williams and Richard H. Lee. Taylor was eliminated from the U.S. Amateur in the first round by Chan Kim. In the 2010 Canadian Amateur, Taylor finished tied for 33rd at +3. He won the 2010 Ben Hogan Award for the top men's collegiate golfer, and also won his second consecutive Pac-10 Golfer of the Year award.

Professional career

Taylor turned professional in late 2010, making his professional debut at the October Russell Brewing VGT Tour Championship on the Vancouver Golf Tour. He played on PGA Tour Canada from 2011 to 2013, compiling 10 top-10 finishes in 25 starts. In 2013, he finished 7th on the Order of Merit and earned an exemption into the final stage of the Web.com Tour qualifying school, where he finished 11th to earn status for the 2014 season. He finished 69th in the 2014 Web.com Tour regular season, then 23rd in the Web.com Tour Finals to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season.

2014–15 PGA Tour season: inaugural season and first victory Taylor made his first start in the 2014–15 PGA Tour season at the October Frys.com Open at Silverado Resort and Spa. He finished at +2 and missed the cut. In November 2014, Taylor achieved his first victory on the PGA Tour at the Sanderson Farms Championship, hosted at the Country Club of Jackson, finishing with a score of −16. Taylor's win was the first on the PGA Tour for a Canadian-born player in seven years, following Mike Weir's victory at the 2007 Fry's Electronics Open. Taylor and fellow Canadian teammate Adam Hadwin finished runner up at the April Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with a final score of −28, two strokes behind the team of Nick Hardy and Davis Riley. In the 2023 PGA Championship, Taylor was cut after the second round finishing at +7.

Taylor won his third career tournament at the June RBC Canadian Open, at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club. In the third round, Taylor scored a tournament low 63, and fourth round a 66 to finish for a tie for first with Tommy Fleetwood. In the playoff, both golfers birdied the first, and parred the second and third holes. On the par-5 fourth hole, Taylor holed a 72-foot putt for eagle to win. He became the first Canadian citizen to win their national open since 1954, and the first born in Canada to win it since 1914.

2024 PGA Tour season: victory at the WM Phoenix Open After a slow start to the 2024 PGA Tour season that saw him finish 52nd or worse in three of his first four events, Taylor picked up his fourth career victory at the WM Phoenix Open in a playoff over Charley Hoffman with a birdie on the second playoff hole.

2025 PGA Tour season: Fifth career victory In his second start of the 2025 PGA Tour season at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Taylor won his fifth PGA Tour event in a playoff over Nico Echavarría.

Amateur wins 2006 BC Junior, Canadian Junior 2007 Canadian Amateur Championship 2009 Sahalee Players Championship

Awards and honors In 2009, Taylor was awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal In 2010, he was selected for the Ben Hogan Award

Professional wins (6) PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (3–0)

Gateway Tour wins (1) 2013 Arizona Fall 3

Results in major championships Results not in chronological order in 2020.

LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2009 U.S. Open – 2019 U.S. Open) Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place C = canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships 1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

NT = No tournament "T" = Tied Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

Team appearances Amateur Eisenhower Trophy (representing Canada): 2008 Four Nations Cup (representing Canada): 2009 (winners)

Professional World Cup (representing Canada): 2018 Presidents Cup (representing the International team): 2026