By Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun,
February 10, 2009

Nick Taylor's golf swing apparently didn't collect any rust over the winter. And if there was ever any doubt whether the talented Ledgeview golfer would be able to follow up what was a stellar 2008 season, Taylor certainly answered that question in Hawaii late last week.

The University of Washington junior won individual honours at the Hawaii-Hilo Invitational with a six-under total of 210 at a windy Mauna Lani North Golf Course. The win was Taylor's second collegiate title and his second straight. He finished the fall season by winning the CordeValle Collegiate tourney in San Martin, Calif., in early November.

The Hawaii field was a deep one with a number of top schools such as USC, Stanford, Arizona State and Oklahoma competing in the 17-team event. Swirling winds made course conditions extremely difficult, but Taylor fired three straight sub-par rounds of 69, 71 and 70 to win by one shot over Jamie Lovemark of USC. Washington finished second in the team competition, 11 shots behind USC.

Taylor is coming off a fabulous 2008, a year that was filled with many highlights. He finished second at last spring's NCAA Championships, qualified for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, made the cut at the CN Canadian Open and was runner-up at the World Amateur Championship in Australia.

Taylor said he felt fortunate to win in Hawaii. He closed with two tough pars on the 17th and 18th holes in Friday's final round when the other contenders were struggling to make bogey. "In a sense, it just kind of fell into my lap," he said after the victory.

Taylor will compete for his third straight collegiate title Feb. 23-24 when the Huskies travel to Los Angeles for the USC Collegiate tourney. B.C. Amateur champion Eugene Wong of North Vancouver, now a freshman at the University of Oregon, finished 24th in Hawaii at five-over par.