By Kent Gilchrist,
The Province, June 23, 2009

If it was back to being simply Nick Taylor, the No. 1 amateur in the world instead of Super Nick Bethpage Black Slayer, it was fine.

He had to be worn out from never really knowing his weather-plagued U.S. Open tee time -- except that it would be very early -- the scrutiny of the huge New York crowds and the expectation of living up to his second-round five-under-par 65.

His hometown supporters were just as exhausted, following the action that started at 6 a.m. on TSN/NBC on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings.

At Ledgeview in Abbotsford, where Taylor plays, the first tee was empty of serious male players those three mornings because they were watching golf on television, and not just because it was the Ledgeview women's amateur.

It was a long, drawn-out week for everyone. This isn't making excuses for Taylor, but a lot of college tournaments are three rounds with no gallery. With all the weather delays, trips back and forth to the hotel, traffic tie-ups, the 109th U.S. Open must have seemed like a nearly sleepless five-day-long marathon in front of 40,000 noisy, often well-fueled, New Yorkers.

But you know what? Before it started, if he'd been offered the kind of week he had, he would have been delighted. The rest of us, just along for the ride, loved it, too.

"I think the mind drains the body," said Taylor's coach Rob Houlding of Northview on Monday, following Taylor's second straight five-over 75. "A lot of stuff -- good stuff -- happened, but I'm sure he was tired."

So what if our hero finished tied for 36th at eight-over 288? He was low amateur -- ahead of Drew Weaver and Kyle Stanley, the others who made the cut -- and he beat the likes of Geoff Ogilvy, Kenny Perry and Rocco Mediate. "It's a continuing good story," added Houlding. "Just another step up the ladder."

That, or a similar sentiment, is being contemplated by a considerably larger circle of observers as the 21-year-old Washington junior was rushing off to Toronto on Monday to meet up with his RCGA national teammates returning from the British Amateur. His next tournament will be the Sahalee (suburban Seattle) Players Championship, July 1-3.

After that, in short order, come the U.S. Publinx, Canadian Open, a Nationwide Tour event in Columbus, Ohio, Four Nations Cup and Canadian Amateur, both in Montreal, and the U.S. Amateur before heading back to school for his senior year.

"I think he got a good look at what being a pro like [former U.S. Amateur champion] Ricky Barnes is all about," said his former high school coach at Yale, Tom Hall, who was still in his dressing gown watching at 9:30 on Monday morning. "Nick did great. We're all so proud of him."

As Houlding pointed out: "There's no give-up in Nick Taylor. I'm looking forward to talking to him about it when he gets back. I think there will be a lot more to be heard from Nick in the years to come."

There seems little doubt about that.