by Ed Smith @edsmith7133
Nick Taylor birdied three of his last four holes in regulation and two in a
playoff with Charlie Hoffman to win the Phoenix Open Championship Sunday. The
level of golf played was matched by the notoriously raucous crowd that is known
to flood the Scottsdale course each year for this event. Dubbed “The People’s
Open,” the Phoenix Open broke records for attendance on Saturday after two wild
weather days in the desert that forced players to walk up to ten miles on
Sunday, finishing more than half of Round 3 followed by a complete Round 4. The
conditions became ideal for shooting low numbers for those in contention as the
well-kept course dried up and allowed the creativity of shot making to
shine.
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler fell to Nick Taylor after beating
him by one stroke in last year’s event. Once Scheffler had been surpassed, it
was time for Taylor to turn on the afterburners and catch Hoffman, the leader
in the clubhouse. Knowing he had to birdie two of the last three gave Taylor
the space he needed to charge at the -20 mark that had been set. First up was
hole 16 (nicknamed “The Coliseum”), the Par 3 enclosed hole that, to the dismay
of the estimated twenty thousand camped around it, few had attacked. Taylor’s approach
left a makeable birdie putt, which he calmly executed, meaning only one more
birdie was needed in the final two holes. After gaining par on hole 17, Taylor
went after the needed score on 18. His second shot was left within just ten
feet of the hole. With his putt, the ball moved just to the left and rode the
lip into the cup. The Playoff was on.
Both Taylor and Hoffman got putts to fall in the first hole. On the second
hole, however, Hoffman left his putt seven inches from the hole, which clinched
the victory for Taylor.
With the win, Nick Taylor earned $1,584,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to move into
fourth in the yearlong standings. The former number one amateur player earned
his first tour victory since last year when he won the Canadian Open (in his
home country). He has won four TOUR tournaments overall and has demonstrated that
he is a player who is at his best when the lights are on him.
The PGA TOUR will continue its season this week with the Genesis
Invitational in Los Angeles starting Thursday. It has been announced that the
Golf Channel will host coverage on Thursday and Friday, which, after that, will
be split between the Golf Channel and CBS with the afternoon groupings carried
nationally across broadcast stations.