from the BC Golf News, www.bcgolfnews.com

Not since the days of Kitchener, ON's Gary Cowan, who won his second United States Amateur title in 1971, has a Canadian amateur given this country so much to look forward to as Abbotsford, BC's Nick Taylor has following his sublime performance in the 109th U.S. Open championship over five days on Long Island, NY.

Despite having to endure disruptive rain delays while competing on one of golf's most difficult courses---7,366-yard Bethpage Black, Farmingdale---Taylor survived more than just the cut and the weather; he finished tied for 36th and was the lowest amateur in professional golf's second major of the season.

For the 21-year-old Taylor, a senior at University of Washington (above, Stephan Ames & Taylor), his magical week began last Monday (June 15) when the R&A, golf's governing body, named him the No. 1 ranked amateur player in the world. However, the magic didn't stop there.

After an opening round of 3-over par 73, which took a day and a half to finish, Taylor then matched the best score by an amateur in U.S. Open history with a second round of 5-under 65 Saturday, equaling the rounds put up by amateurs James McHale in 1947 and James Simons in 1971. That put the 2007 Canadian Amateur champion 2-under par for the week and tied for seventh at the midway point--- his scores in both rounds topping those of Tiger Woods.

When the championship finally concluded today Taylor's 72-hole score of 8-over par 288 put him in 36th place, just 12 shots behind 2009 champion Lucas Glover (278) of the U.S. and six strokes back of compatriots Stephan Ames of Calgary and Ontario native Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, who tied for 10th place at 282.

Meanwhile, here in BC Taylor's golf coach, Rob Houlding of Northview Golf Academy in Surrey was undeniably proud of his elite pupil but, speaking with BC GOLF NEWS, indicated he was also anxious to get together with Taylor to analyze his U.S. Open performance and begin preparing for his next big event, the PGA TOUR's RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in Oakville, ON July 23-26.

Former Masters champion (2003) Mike Weir, who played a practice round with Taylor before the Open got underway, commented after Taylor's remarkable record-tying 65: "I'm not surprised at all. He's got a great head on his shoulders. I'm impressed with him and hopefully he keeps going. He's got a great future.''

109th United States Open Leaderboard
1 L. Glover 69 64 70 73 276
T2 P. Mickelson 69 70 69 70 278
T2 D. Duval 67 70 70 71 278
T2 R. Barnes 67 65 70 76 278
5 R. Fisher 70 68 69 72 279
T6 T. Woods 74 69 68 69 280
T6 S. Hansen 70 71 70 69 280
T6 H. Mahan 72 68 68 72 280
9 H. Stenson 73 70 70 68 281
T10 R. Mcilroy 72 70 72 68 282
T10 M. Bettencourt 75 67 71 69 282
T10 S. Garcia 70 70 72 70 282
T10 R. Moore 70 69 72 71 282
T10 S. Ames . 74 66 70 72 282
T10 M. Weir 64 70 74 74 282
T36 N. Taylor 73 65 75 75 288
MC A. Parr 72 76 146

Taylor Notes
Taylor was medalist at the sectional qualifier at Roslyn, Wash., June 1. London, ONs Andrew Parr finished second and also qualified.
Taylor also qualified or the U.S. Open in 2008, was again the sectional medalist but missed the cut, finishing 10 over for the first two days at Torrey Pines.
Taylor is a 2009 first-team All-American and led U. Washington to a berth into match play at the NCAA Championships after finishing T-9 in stroke play. He won four times during the 2008/09 season.
Taylor finished as a runner-up at ‘09 NCAA Central Regional.
Taylor finished second at ‘08 World Amateur Team Championship, NCAA Championship and NCAA West Regional.
Taylor made the cut at ‘08 Canadian Open.
He was a quarter-finalist in the 08 U.S. Amateur

Fifteen amateurs competed in this year’s U.S. Open, the most since 1981, but only three survived the cut.

The Low 72-hole score by an amateur in the U.S. Open was 282, shot by Jack Nicklaus, Cherry Hills C.C., Englewood, Colo., 1960

Last Amateur to Win the U.S. Open was Johnny Goodman in 1933.

Since Nicklaus' fourth-place finish in 1961, only two amateurs have finished in the Top 10. Johnny Miller tied for eighth in 1966 and Jim Simons tied for fifth in 1971.

Taylor is a member at Ledgeview Golf & Country Club