Nick Taylor's run of solid play continued Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Tour's Travelers Championship.
The Abbotsford, B.C., golfer shot a bogey-free, 4-under 66 and was four shots back of leaders Austin Eckroat and Scottie Scheffler of the United States after 18 holes in Cromwell, Conn.
"I hit it really nice," Taylor told reporters. "I felt like looking at the forecast we were going to get a bit of a break being off early today. I don't know if the wind has really kicked up yet, but I knew it was going to be receptive. Hit it nice. I had some chances on that back nine to probably have at least a couple lower and wasn't able to make them. But a really solid day."
Fellow Abbotsford golfer Adam Hadwin also finished his first round at 4 under.
Taylor was the top Canadian at the Canadian Open (tied for 13th) and U.S. Open (tied for 23rd) the past two weeks. At the tournament before that stretch, he finished fourth at the Memorial.
While Taylor slipped down the leaderboard after a late delay because of rain at the U.S. Open, he was in contention for a top-10 finish.
"I was disappointed with (the finish), but to have some good rounds, be steady around there and really felt like I could have been — not necessarily competing to win on that second or last day because I was a little too far back — but be in that top-10 or 15 pretty consistently until the last few holes, I feel like that gives me a lot of confidence going into the next majors," he said.
The 37-year-old Taylor, who won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, is 14th in the FedExCup standings and 31st in the world golf rankings.
Taylor has five career wins on the PGA Tour, including his historic triumph at the 2023 Canadian Open.
6:27
1:10