Record-setting performance is Taylor-made
By DAN KINVIG
Abbotsford News
Aug 12 2006

To say that Nick Taylor was surprised to win the Canadian Junior Boys Golf Championship this week wouldn’t be entirely accurate. The 18-year-old Abbotsford golfer has plenty of confidence, and for good reason – he’s been scorching hot this season.

But confidence aside, the 18-year-old Abbotsford golfer was definitely surprised by his margin of victory at Sussex Golf and Curling Club in Sussex, New Brunswick. Taylor pretty much ran away with the trophy, winning by a ridiculous 11 strokes in an impressive wire-to-wire win.

“I never guessed I would win by 11 shots, if I ever did win this event,” Taylor enthused. “But I played awesome the first day and started off with a lead, and it grew from there.”

Taylor’s runaway set a new record for largest margin of victory in the tournament’s 68-year history. Danny Maue of Kitchener, Ont. held the previous record of 10 strokes, set in 1978. Fellow Abbotsford native James Lepp made a run at Maue’s mark with a nine-stroke victory in 2001.

The foundation for Taylor’s win was laid during Monday’s opening round. Golfers were treated to extreme winds that gusted up to 61 kilometres per hour, and low scores were all but unattainable.

But while the wind proved to be kryptonite for most golfers’ games, Taylor was curiously undisturbed. His one-over 71 was the only round of the day within shouting distance of par, and he found himself with a five-stroke lead.

“I just stayed within the moment, I guess you could say, and really paid attention to the wind,” explained Taylor, who adjusted his club selection to keep the ball lower to undercut the gusts. “If you weren’t being careful, the wind would just take the ball. It was really tough. “Even when you were chipping and putting, you had to read the wind.”

Taylor’s huge early margin built his confidence, which grew in snowball-like fashion with each successive round. He maintained the lead with a 69 on Tuesday, and stretched it to seven strokes with a 72 on Wednesday.

With such a big lead, Thursday’s final round essentially amounted to a victory lap for Taylor. But he wasn’t about to take the trophy for granted – stranger things have happened in the sport of golf. One need only recall Greg Norman’s historic collapse at the 1996 Masters – the Aussie led by six strokes heading into the final round, but closed with a 78 and was overtaken by Nick Faldo for the green jacket.

That fate didn’t befall Taylor, who was determined to maintain his focus despite the big lead.

“Obviously it was a great position to be in, but I still had to play well,” Taylor said, noting that he adopted a more conservative approach on Thursday. “I just wanted to not make too many mistakes.”

2006 has been good to Taylor, who earlier this year led the Yale Lions to an unprecedented second straight provincial title and went on to win his first B.C. Junior Championship.

But though he’s produced plenty of highlights of late, he said that this week’s tournament is the best he’s ever played.

“Everything in my game peaked at the right moment,” he said. “My driving and putting were awesome this week, and my short game was probably the best it’s ever been for an extremely long time.”

Taylor’s victory gives him an exemption to the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, which tees off on Sunday at Mississauga Golf and Country Club in Mississauga, Ont.

Three other Ledgeview Golf and Country Club products made the cut and posted solid finishes. Lucas Bogdan (81-74-74-72) finished in ninth place, while Brett Webster (80-80-75-72) was tied for 22nd. Ian Mulder, who was part of the first-place Team B.C. squad for the inter-provincial competition along with Taylor, finished tied for 61st (89-80-74-76).

CHIP SHOTS:
n Taylor was the only golfer in the field to shoot two rounds of even par or better.
n The median score among the 76 golfers who made the cut was +32.