By Dan Kinvig - Abbotsford News
Published: June 22, 2009 3:00 PM

At this point, it’s getting awfully tough to pick out the best adjective with which to describe Nick Taylor.

He’s the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer.

He’s an NCAA All-American.

He’s a Canadian Amateur champion.

And as of Monday, the 21-year-old sensation from Abbotsford can add amateur medalist honours at the U.S. Open to his rapidly expanding resumé.

For a few heady hours bridging Friday and Saturday, in fact, Taylor found himself in the top 10 overall at the Open, held at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y. The tournament happens to be one of golf’s four major championships.

After opening with a 73, the Ledgeview product shot up the leaderboard in the second round thanks to a sizzling 65, which matched the tournament’s single-round scoring record for an amateur. Only two other non-professionals – James McHale in 1947 and James Simons in 1971 – have ever shot so low at the U.S. Open.

For the round, Taylor’s seven-birdie, two-bogey effort was exceeded only by the 64 posted by eventual champion Lucas Glover, and the impressive performance made headlines across the continent.

“Amateur Taylor is looking like a real pro,” trumpeted the Boston Globe.

“Taylor plays round of his life,” raved the Calgary Herald.

“Amateur player, professional approach,” the Globe and Mail chimed in.

The Bleacher Report, an American sports website, compared Taylor to Francis Ouimet, who famously won the Open as a 20-year-old amateur back in 1913.

Just how good was Taylor’s second round? Consider the names south of his on the leaderboard through 36 holes: Phil Mickelson. Sergio Garcia. Adam Scott. Geoff Ogilvy. Retief Goosen. Jim Furyk. Anthony Kim. Tiger Woods.

Yes, Tiger Woods. At three over par through two rounds, the 14-time major champion was five strokes behind Taylor.

“I would never have guessed that I’d be up there,” Taylor told The News via cell phone on Monday. “Pretty much everything was going right (in the second round). I drove it in the fairway, and if I had a birdie putt, I was making it.”

Twenty-something amateurs aren’t supposed to contend at the U.S. Open, which is considered one of the toughest tests in golf. And in the end, conventional wisdom prevailed – Taylor closed out the tournament with matching rounds of 75 to finish in a tie for 36th at eight over par.

“I just made some really stupid shots and shot some bogeys,” Taylor explained. “I hit it in the wrong spots, and couldn’t get up and down.”

While Taylor was disappointed with his final two rounds, he still hung on to claim low amateur honours by one stroke over American Drew Weaver. And the value of his U.S. Open experience can’t be understated. Taylor hit the course for a practice round with Canadian pros Mike Weir and Stephen Ames earlier in the week, and his playing partners for the last two rounds of the tournament were Sean O’Hair, the sixth-leading money winner on the PGA Tour this season, and Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old phenom from Northern Ireland.

The U.S. Open was a true family affair for Taylor. Older brother Josh – who played his NCAA golf at the University of Texas-El Paso – served as Nick’s caddy, while parents Jay and Darlene watched from the gallery.

“It’s just been a very, very special week watching our sons out there,” Jay Taylor said. “And the e-mails and text messages (from friends in Abbotsford) have been absolutely awesome.

“It’s been so overwhelming, e-mail wise, that I really can’t answer all of them. I just send out a broadcast e-mail every day to give people some sort of insight.”

Taylor will head back to the University of Washington in the fall for his senior season with the Huskies. In the meantime, highlights of his summer schedule include the U.S. Public Links Championships (July 13-18), the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open (July 20-26), the Canadian Amateur (Aug. 9-13) and the U.S. Amateur (Aug. 24-30).