Nick Taylor has been named to Tiger Woods’ exclusive list after winning the Sony Open.
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Nick Taylor finds himself in a tough spot after a thrilling playoff win over Nico Echavarria on Sunday at the Sony Open.
Taylor had to suck out the miracle chip on the 72nd hole at Valley Country Club find a way to the playoffs. But when Taylor reached the sudden-death playoffs, he did what he had done in each of the last two seasons – he won.
Both Taylor and Echavarria birdied the first hole in the playoffs, before the Canadian defeated the 30-year-old Colombian with a birdie on the second hole to secure his fifth PGA Tour victory and third straight season with a playoff victory .
In 2023 Taylor made a 72-foot putt beat Tommy Fleetwood in the RBC Canadian Open. The Canadian once again rose to the challenge last season when he defeated Charley Hoffman in a two-hole playoff to win the Signature Event at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
By defeating Echavarria in extra holes on Sunday, Taylor joined an exclusive group of players who have won three consecutive seasons on the PGA Tour in the playoffs. According to Golf stats guru Justin RayTaylor is the first player to accomplish this feat since Bubba Watson did it in 2010-2012. According to Ray, since 1999, only five players have won three consecutive seasons in the playoffs. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are on that list.
In 1999, Woods defeated Miguel Angel Jimenez on the first playoff hole to win the WGC-American Express Championship. Woods defeated Bob May in an overtime to win the 2000 PGA Championship the following year. He also defeated Ernie Els in an overtime at the 2000 Mercedes Championship. Then, in 2001, Woods defeated Jim Furyk in an epic seven-hole playoff battle to win the 2001 WGC-NEC Invitational.
Taylor struggled last season after winning in Phoenix. After winning the playoffs, he only earned one top-10 card, which came during the team event at the Zurich Classic. Taylor’s inconsistent season saw him fail to crack the top 50 on the FedEx Cup list, forcing Mike Weir eliminate him from the Presidents Cup team.
The 36-year-old Canadian worked hard in the fall and hopes to be more consistent in 2025.
He believes that if he can participate in hunting more often, he will start accumulating victories. He has already proven that he has the clutch gene that comes into play in important moments.
“I feel like I can rise to the occasion and it’s pretty fun,” Taylor said Sunday after the win.
Getting your name on the list alongside Woods and Mickelson is never a bad thing either.
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