Nick Taylor Reaches U.S. Public Links Final

Rated the No. 1 player on the R & A world amateur rankings for the past five weeks and the low amateur at the U.S. Open, Taylor won two matches today, defeating Wesley Bryan of Chapin, S.C 2 & 1 in the morning quarterfinal, then eliminated local favorite Phillip Bryan, the assistant golf coach at the University of Oklahoma, by a score of 3-and-2 to advance to the 36-hole final on Saturday.

His opponent in Saturday's final will be Brad Benjamin, 22, of Rockford, Ill. who birdied the 18th hole to defeat Brandon Crick, 21, of McCook, Neb., 1 up.

“To make it to the final to any match play tournament, it's so difficult,” said Taylor. “You've got to be lucky a little bit and you’ve got to play well too.  It’s going to be exciting tomorrow and I'm going to be pumped to play.”

Two weeks ago Taylor won the prestigious Sahalee Players Championship in Washington and at the beginning of this week cruised through 36 holes  (66-70—136) to claim medalist honours by four strokes.

A member of Canada's National Amateur Team and a Junior with the University of Washington Huskies, Taylor has yet to reach the 18th hole in any of his matches this week.

In the Round of 64, Taylor lost the opening hole of his first match with a bogey but bounced right back with birdies on his next two holes and closed out the match on the 14th hole, winning 6 & 4.

In the Round of 32, he won his first hole with a par and never trailed. When the match ended on the 12th hole, Taylor had recorded two eagles, three birdies and a bogey for an 8 & 6 victory.

In the Round of 16, he took the lead with a par on the opening hole and by the time the match ended on the 13th green Taylor had recorded five birdies and a 6 & 5 win. 

In this morning's quarterfinal, Taylor took the first lead of the day with a birdie at the fifth hole but the tenacious Wesley Bryan hung on til Taylor—with two birdies and two bogeys on the day---finally prevailed with a 2 & 1 victory at the 17th.

In his semifinal match against Bryan --the assistant golf coach at the University of Oklahoma and a former four-year member of the team-- Taylor was seemingly up against more than just an opponent. The largest crowds of the championship filled the fairways and ringed the green around the Taylor-Bryan match, cheering Bryan throughout.  Though Bryan had his chances on a golf course he has played an estimated 300-400 times, it was the combination of a cool putter and consistently steady play from Taylor that ended his hopes of a hometown victory.

The match got off to a dubious start for Taylor. Both he and Bryan bogeyed No. 1. Then, for only the second time since match play began, Taylor found himself down 1 after a second consecutive bogey. However, a par at the fourth hole by Taylor brought the match back to all square and a birdie at the 621-yard par-five 5th hole gave him a lead he would not loose.

Taylor took advantage of a birdie miss by Bryan on the par-5 13th hole to record a birdie of his own and grab a 4-up lead with five holes to play.  With the match on the line, Bryan hit a utility club to 10 feet on the 281-yard, par-3 15th hole, made the putt for birdie and extended the match.  On the 16th hole, Taylor closed out Bryan with a par to win, 3 and 2.

“I'm having fun,” said Taylor. “At the end of the day, you're having fun but you're also just drained, so it's kind of hard to show how much fun you're having.”

Looking back in the history of Canadian golf, only three players have ever won U.S. national Championships---excluding the NCAA titles won by James Lepp in 2005 and Matt Hill this season.

In 1932, six-time Canadian Amateur winner C. Ross (Sandy) Somerville of London, ON broke the Canada/U.S. barrier when he captured the U.S. Amateur.

In 1956, at the tender age of 22 and already a British Ladies' champion, four-time Canadian Ladies' title holder, the incomparable 4'11" Marlene Stewart of Font H ill, ON won the U.S. Ladies crown. Twenty-nine years later Marlene Stewart Streit brought home the U.S. Senior Ladies' championship, then repeated thefeat in 1984 and again in 2003

Then came Gary Cowan, the stylish insurance salesman from Kitchener, ON whose record includes one Canadian Amateur championship and five runner-up finishes. In 1966 Cowan defeated Deane Beaman for the U.S. Amateur championship and returned in 1971 to eagle the final hole and win for a second time the most important amateur tournament in golf.

Meanwhile, Taylor is attempting to also become only the second Washingon Husky golfer to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.

Next week, this 21-year-old member from the Ledgeview Golf Club will attempt to continue his remarkable year on the links when he tees it up on the PGA TOUR in the RBC Canadian Open at Oakville, ON's Glen Abbey.

2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship

Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club -- -- Par-71, 7,289-yards

Quarterfinal Round

Nick Taylor, Canada  (136) def. Wesley Bryan, Chapin, S.C.  (143), 2 and 1

Phillip Bryan, Norman, Okla.  (146) def. Sam Lyons, Myrtle Beach, S.C.  (145), 1 up

Brandon Crick, McCook, Neb.  (149) def. Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif.  (149), 19 holes

Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill.  (142) def. Sang Yi, Carrollton, Texas  (144), 5 and 3

Semifinal Round

Nick Taylor, Canada  (136) def. Phillip Bryan, Norman, Okla.  (146), 3 and 2

Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill.  (142) def. Brandon Crick, McCook, Neb.  (149), 1 up

Final -- 7:00 am   Friday, July 18, 2009    

Nick Taylor, Abbotsford, BC, Canada  (136-#1) vs. Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill.  (142-#6)