You can call it the "Silly Season." For Nick Taylor, it is anything but.
A year ago this week, in just his seventh PGA Tour start, the 26-year-old Taylor rode a hot putter to victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Miss., shooting 66 on Sunday to come from four shots back for the win. In doing so, he became the first native-born Canadian to win on Tour since Mike Weir in 2007.
(As a historical footnote, Dan Halldorson, Manitoba-born like Taylor, won this tournament in 1986, an unofficial event then called the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic, and B.C.’s Richard Zokol did it in 1992. It was “unofficial” because, back then, it was played the same week as The Masters. Even though the tournament now is played the same week as the World Golf Championships HSBC Champions in China, it is considered an official event.)
The win gave Taylor, who was raised in Abbotsford, B.C., a two-year Tour exemption along with US$720,000. (In 1986, Halldorson won $36,000, five per cent of what Taylor got. Six years later, Zokol cashed a $54,000 cheque.)
"It was surreal," he told me over the phone before last week’s CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, where he finished T47. "It sure made paying the bills a lot easier!"
And for a guy who was the world’s top-ranked amateur in 2009 and had toiled on the PGA Tour Canada since turning pro a year later, there might have been a few bills piling up. But Taylor told me he wasn’t all that concerned.
"It has always been like that for me, making the transition. Whether it was from junior to amateur, or amateur to pro, or the Canadian Tour to the Web.com Tour and then the PGA Tour, it just takes me some time."
As far as the feared "sophomore slump," he said he went through that right after his victory so that is not a concern now. "My game was up and down after that. Several times, I was in the top 10 going into the final round but made some silly mental mistakes on Sunday. But the more I get into that situation, the more comfortable I am, the more confidence I have that I can finish it off. I think, coming off the win, I had too many expectations, not enough patience, and tried to force things on Sunday."
And on a conference call with Canadian media on Tuesday, Taylor reinforced that. "I’ve got a year’s more experience and my game now is as good or better than it was last year. I’ve got a good feeling for this week."
And after, hopefully, Taylor defends this week, what does this "wraparound" 2015-2016 PGA Tour season hold? (For the record, Weir was the last Canadian to successfully defend a title, winning the 2003 and 2004 Nissan Opens at Riviera.)
Seeing that every winner so far in this nascent season (Emiliano Grillo, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas) has been born after 1991, does that make Rory McIlroy (1989) and Jason Day (1987) relative greybeards incapable of winning? Of course not. Either of those two could be your FedEx Cup winners without winning a major (see below). Both have something to prove, which should make for a fascinating season ahead.
Will the ban on anchored putters make any difference? If you take Adam Scott, previously the standard bearer (literally) for anchored putting, no. Scott has adapted beautifully to the shorter stick. Combined with his length and accuracy off the tee and into greens, he may well win at least once this year and another major isn’t out of the question. At 35, he just might surprise those 20-somethings.
Who will win the majors? Let’s give Scott the PGA Championship at Baltusrol, for argument’s sake. Spieth will defend at both The Masters and the U.S. Open (Oakmont) and — dare I say it? — Dustin Johnson will raise the Claret Jug at Royal Troon.
What about the Olympics? Yeah, yeah, we know Canada is the defending champion. When George Lyon of Toronto defeated American Chandler Egan in 1904 in St. Louis, it was an individual match-play event with a handful of competitors (72 Americans, three Canadians and two Brits). The nature of its revival is appalling from a number of perspectives, including the venue, the timing, and the 72-hole individual stroke-play format. I couldn’t care less. The folks at the Canadian Golf Museum should hide the trophy and tell the Olympic folks they lost it.
And, if Taylor doesn’t defend this week, which Canadian will win this season? It has to be David Hearn. At 36, Hearn is due. Overdue. Two playoff losses (2013 John Deere Classic and 2015 Greenbrier Classic) were capped off by T3 at this year’s RBC Canadian Open, after he held the 54-hole lead. His short game finally has caught up to the rest of his game. I would have picked Graham DeLaet, but his perennial litany of injuries and the happy fact that he and his wife are expecting twins this month mitigate his chances yet again. It’s been a long, hard road for a man who is a terrific ball striker and a better person.
Finally…
Will Tiger come back? No. If he does come back, will he win? No. Should he be an assistant captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team? No. (Well, yes, if you want Europe to defend.) Did I read Steve Williams’s book? Yes. Should you? No. Do I want any more Tiger questions? No. The Tiger Era is over and another, different and perhaps more intriguing, era is on the horizon. And, to that, a resounding "Yes!"