Nick Taylor Feels “Good” About First Open Cut as Royal Birkdale Awaits

Summary:

• Nick Taylor hopes to make his first-ever cut at The Open Championship after missing it in his last three appearances.
• The Canadian says preparing for Royal Birkdale feels like “cramming for a big test”.
• Taylor plans to rely heavily on caddie Dave Markle as unpredictable run-outs pose major challenges.

Nick Taylor is approaching this week’s 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale with cautious optimism, comparing his preparation for golf’s oldest major to studying for a major exam.

Taylor: “I Feel Good About It”

The Canadian, who has missed the cut in all three of his previous appearances at The Open, believes he is closer than ever to finally producing a breakthrough performance.

Taylor told Sportsnet

I’ve taken slow steps the last couple of years. Every year I’ve been right there and maybe made some silly mistakes. But I feel good about it.

Royal Birkdale presents an entirely new challenge for the 37-year-old. Taylor has never played the famed English links course, and the unusually dry conditions have only added another layer of uncertainty. The region has reportedly gone more than a week without rain, creating firm fairways that could dramatically affect how far the ball travels.

The biggest challenge is figuring out where to take on bunkers and where not to. How firm this ground is; this is a new experience for me.

Conserving His Energy 

Tyler didn’t choose the overpreparing path, but instead took a more balanced approach, completing two nine-hole practice rounds and focusing mostly on his short game and conserving energy. 

He also expects to lean more heavily than usual on longtime caddie Dave Markle for strategy and club selection throughout the week.

Taylor also had a practice round with former Open champion David Duval. The latter commented on Royal Birkdale’s greens and their unique design that helps slow the ball down. Taylor also acknowledged that downwind shots could still see an additional 30 to 40 yards of roll.

Despite he did not manage to record many headline-grabbing finishes this year, Taylor is still one of Canada’s most consistent players, currently sitting as the country’s second-ranked men’s golfer. He is also second among Canadians in the FedExCup standings.

His season has included a top-10 finish at the Cadillac Championship and a strong showing at the PGA Championship before a difficult closing stretch left him tied for 24th. 

More recently, he closed with rounds of 64 and 65 at the Travelers Championship and climbed 18 spots on Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open with a final-round 68.