Nick Taylor discovered himself on an unique listing with Tiger Woods after profitable the Sony Open.
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Nick Taylor finds himself in rarefied air after his thrilling playoff win over Nico Echavarria on Sunday on the Sony Open.
Taylor wanted to drain a miraculous chip on the 72nd gap at Waialae Nation Membership to discover a manner right into a playoff. However as soon as Taylor reached the sudden-death playoff, he did what he has achieved in every of the previous two seasons — win.
Each Taylor and Echavarria birdied the primary playoff gap earlier than the Canadian obtained the most effective of the 30-year-old Colombian with a birdie on the second gap to clinch his fifth PGA Tour victory and third consecutive season with a playoff win.
In 2023, Taylor drained a 72-foot putt to beat Tommy Fleetwood on the RBC Canadian Open. The Canadian as soon as once more rose to the second final season when he bested Charley Hoffman in a two-hole playoff to win a Signature Occasion on the Waste Administration Phoenix Open.
By beating Echavarria in further holes on Sunday, Taylor joined an unique group of gamers to win a PGA Tour occasion in a playoff in three consecutive seasons. In accordance with golf stats guru Justin Ray, Taylor is the primary participant to realize the feat since Bubba Watson did it between 2010-12. Per Ray, solely 5 gamers have received in a playoff in three consecutive seasons since 1999. That listing contains Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
In 1999, Woods defeated Miguel Angel Jimenez on the primary playoff gap to win the WGC-American Specific Championship. Woods beat Bob Might in a playoff to win the 2000 PGA Championship the next 12 months. He additionally beat Ernie Els in a playoff on the 2000 Mercedes Championship. Then, in 2001, Woods beat Jim Furyk in an epic seven-hole playoff battle to win the 2001 WGC-NEC Invitational.
Taylor struggled final season after profitable in Phoenix. After that playoff win, he carded only one top-10, which got here on the workforce occasion on the Zurich Basic. Taylor’s inconsistent season noticed him fail to crack the highest 50 on the FedEx Cup listing and compelled Mike Weir to depart him off the Presidents Cup workforce.
The 36-year-old Canadian labored laborious through the fall and hopes to be extra constant in 2025.
If he can put himself within the hunt extra usually, he believes he’ll begin to stack wins. He’s already confirmed he has a clutch gene that delivers in large moments.
“I really feel like I can rise to the event and it’s fairly enjoyable,” Taylor mentioned Sunday after the win.
It’s by no means unhealthy to seek out your title on a listing with Woods and Mickelson, both.
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