Nick Taylor stepped off the seventh green on Sunday sitting at 1-over for the round and trailing by five shots. Winning the tournament seemed like a distant possibility as his mind drifted elsewhere. The situation didn’t improve when he missed back-to-back 4-foot birdie putts on the 15th and 16th holes, convincing himself that his chances were over. Even as he stood on the 18th tee in regulation, two shots back of the lead, he felt a flicker of hope but nothing more.

Hours later, Taylor found himself sitting in the media center at the Sony Open in Hawaii, a flower lei draped around his neck and the winner’s trophy by his side, still processing the shocking turn of events. The victory marks Nick Taylor’s fifth career PGA TOUR title. Impressively, he has secured wins in three consecutive seasons, all coming in playoff scenarios. Taylor claimed the 2023 RBC Canadian Open in a thrilling playoff against Tommy Fleetwood and last year’s WM Phoenix Open after defeating Charley Hoffman.

When he arrived for the post-round presser in Hawaii, he received the nickname, ‘Mr. Playoff.’When asked how he feels whenever the situation intensity arises, he said, “I enjoy being in those moments. For whatever reason my mind gets clear in those situations of the shot I’m just trying to hit. It’s kind of like a match-play situation. I feel like I’ve always enjoyed match play when I was growing up and had success as well just trying to hit each shot at hand.”

He also added he has been working on it for the past couple of years and is good at it. “I’ve worked on that the last couple years of why in those situations am I good and other situations where I am not consistent if I’m in 30th or something. We will work on that, but a nice start to the year obviously,” he added.

Winning the Sony Open brought Taylor a lot of benefits, apart from just the prize money.

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Nick Taylor gets a Masters exemption

Apart from the impressive prize money, Nick Taylor also got the regular 500 FedEx Points to his name. He took home a whopping $1.56 million and became the first Canadian to bag the nation’s Open since 1954, after carding a 72-foot eagle putt. And well, that was not all.

This has raised him to the second position in the standings. In addition, he also made it to the Signature Events for this season and not just that. Now, Taylor already has an invitation for the first event of the season for 2026 – The Sentry. But what is the best part? Nick Taylor is yet to grab a major win.

He appeared in the Masters last year as well. However, Augusta National is, in fact, one of the toughest courses. He ended up sparring his round, with mostly bogeys and just five birdies, in the first two rounds. His score accumulated to a 14-over, and he ended up missing the cut.

But this year, he will aim to fare better. Winning the Sony Open has earned him exemptions into the Masters and the PGA Championship. This is what will get him closer to making another attempt at winning a Major. But if this season will be lucky enough, that is yet to find out!