With all of the attention bestowed upon Matt Hill of Bright's Grove, Ont., for winning the prestigious NCAA Division I individual championship a couple of weeks ago, it was easy to overlook that another Canadian had a top 10 at the same tournament.
"I threw away a few shots the first two rounds. I was a little disappointed, but overall, it was pretty solid, just a couple of things weren't sharp enough to win," said Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., adding he was happy for the guy at the top of the leaderboard at the NCAAs.
"If I had to lose to anybody, he's the guy I want to lose to," said Taylor of his Canadian national team colleague.
Taylor has earned himself a pretty cool consolation prize, with a trip to his second consecutive U.S. Open this week at Bethpage Black. Taylor fired rounds of 66-70 over 36 holes last week in sectional qualifying in Roslyn, Wash., to edge another Canadian, Andrew Parr of London, by two shots.
"Nick played really well," said Parr, who competed alongside Taylor in the qualifier.
"He birdied the first four holes and just played really solid all day. I, on the other hand, got off to a horrible start and it just seemed like I battled pretty much for the first 27 holes and then, just kind of hung in there and hit some great shots on the back nine and I got it done," said Parr, who also qualified for the Open.
One edge for Taylor, who plays for the University of Washington, was familiarity with the golf course at the sectionals. This time around, his game was sharp from the get-go.
"I've played it before, so I've seen the pins, but they're kind of tough to get to," he said. "I hit some good shots. They weren't really close, but for those pins, they were good shots. I had the putter rolling and definitely got off to a good start."
Taylor says he drained a 20-footer on the first hole, a 30-footer on three and a 15-footer on four, after which his scorecard showed four consecutive birdies.
"Going to a qualifier, my goal was to get off to a good start on each 18 and you couldn't ask for much better than that," said Taylor, who was one-under after four holes on the second 18 that day.
"Anytime you're under par on that course on the first few holes, it's pretty good," said Taylor, who planned to be at Bethpage on the weekend to start the task of preparing for a course that, in 2002, shook up pros with a lot more experience than the one U.S. Open played by Taylor so far.
This year, Bethpage will be around 7,214 yards, par 70, and Taylor realizes that driving will be a an important factor with the long carries and the graduated rough that the U.S. Open has used the past few years.
MISSES CUT
"Obviously, par is a great score. Last year, I drove it great and that was huge for me to be in the fairway and stay out of the rough," said Taylor, who missed the cut last year at Torrey Pines.
"Driving will be premium and shots to the green. My iron play wasn't that good last year, but that improved over the year and I think I'll be fine," added Taylor, who also realizes he needs to keep his putter as magical as it was at the sectionals.
In other words, be on top of all aspects of your game if you want to play the weekend, including the mental game with a boisterous crowd in a New York State of mind.
"It was something that I never experience before, not even close to it," he said of Torrey Pines last year. "I'm sure this year, if the weather's nice, it's going to be even crazier than last year."
Parr, who is playing on the Canadian Tour and has played four PGA Tour events including a couple of RBC Canadian Opens, agrees.
"It's a really different environment on the PGA Tour with the crowds and the venues," he said. "The U.S. Open is tenfold."
