by JEFF BROOKE
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail, Jun. 24, 2009

Nick Taylor says his success at the U.S. Open has taken his career to a new level, giving him confidence that he can compete with the best players in the world.

The 21-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., was the low amateur at the 2009 U.S. national championship, which concluded Monday at Bethpage State Park's demanding Black course. His second-round score of five-under-par 65 tied a U.S. Open record for lowest by an amateur and was just two strokes off the historic best for 18 holes in any major championship.

"To shoot under par in an USGA event is a good accomplishment," Taylor said yesterday upon returning to Canada. "Shooting five under at a U.S. Open at Bethpage is something I'll remember for a long, long time.

"To have your name in history is pretty cool. To be able to have that in your back pocket, to be able to have that on your résumé, just gives you confidence overall."

Taylor's 65 vaulted him into a tie for sixth place at the time - and into one of the pressure-packed final groups heading out for the third round.

Taylor played that round with Sean O'Hair and then the final round last Monday with Rory McIlroy - two young, rising stars. (McIlroy of Northern Ireland is a year younger than Taylor.)

Taylor, a senior at the University of Washington who wants to play professionally one day, said he thinks he can hold his own with players of this calibre on his good days. "But my bad days aren't good enough," he said, adding his next goal is to raise his consistency.

He concluded the U.S. Open with 75-75, to fall back into a tie for 36th. Yet he left Bethpage satisfied that he had improved on his first U.S. Open showing, last year at Torrey Pines. "To go from missing the cut last year to being top 10 after two rounds is a pretty big step," Taylor said. "It shows my game is getting better."

There have plenty of other steps forward this season, too. Taylor won four tournaments on the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association circuit this school year, and he topped the field at a qualifying event to get into the U.S. Open. He's now the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, according to the Royal & Ancient, golf's international governing body. Matt Hill - a fellow member of Canada's national amateur team and an eight-time winner in the NCAA this season - is two spots behind at No. 3.

Hill said yesterday he's developed a friendly rivalry with Taylor and the two try to outdo each other every week.

After every victory this season, Hill, a junior at North Carolina State, would run to the computer to check Taylor's results at another tournament across the country.

"We've just been chasing each other all year," said Hill of Bright's Grove, Ont. "It's just been a lot of fun. We're really good friends."

Taylor and Hill were at Coppinwood Golf Club for the national team's annual meeting with the Toronto-area media. They were also told they have been invited to the 2009 RBC Canadian Open - Canada's national championship and a stop on the PGA Tour - next month at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

Taylor played in the event last year, and made the cut. This will be Hill's first start.

National team coach Henry Brunton said the success of Taylor, Hill and others in the program shows golf is on the rise at the amateur level in Canada.