OAKVILLE, Ont. — Nick Taylor wasn’t 100 per cent sure, but he had a feeling he’d just carded his best round ever at the Canadian Open. Probably.
"I think so," the 30-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., said, smiling, shortly after he signed his scorecard with a five-under-par 67, which included eight birdies, in addition to three bogies that he described as "silly," twice.
Taylor, who doled out high-fives and a couple autographs after narrowly missing a birdie putt on his final hole, also thought that Day 1 of this national championship, when he carded a four-under-par 68, had been his best. Until Friday, that is.
"I’m really not sure, to be honest," he said. "All I know is it’s the best position I’ve been in since playing here."
Indeed. Taylor is four strokes back of leader Kevin Tway, tied for 10th, and very much in the mix heading into the weekend. For the former World No. 1 amateur, who won his lone title on the PGA Tour as a rookie in 2015, it marks the first time he’s been in the hunt through two days at the Canadian Open, in his 10th appearance. And Friday’s round was his best ever at this tournament, in blustery conditions, no less.
"Not bad," he said.
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Not at all. And while Taylor leads the seven Canadian players who survived the cut at -4 or better (Adam Hadwin missed by one, and candidly rated his disappointment level: "One hundred out of 10"), it’s Ben Silverman from nearby Thornhill, Ont., who shot the lights out on Friday.
Silverman said he had "no idea" he was closing in on the record at Glen Abbey GC. That’s 62, set last year by American Robert Garrigus.
"I didn’t know what the course record was," said Silverman, who was one stroke short of tying it, with a bogey-free nine-under, having rebounded from a round of 73 a day earlier—a full 10-stroke difference. He’s now eight under through two days.
"It feels awesome to play this well again," said the 30-year-old, who’s also a former Golf Town employee. "Things were clicking, I knew exactly where the ball was going and putts were falling. It was awesome, a lot of fun."
Both Taylor and Silverman need to keep the good scores coming, and not just because of their birthplace and the local interest they draw: They’re contending to get into that top 125 in FedExCup rankings, with just three tournaments remaining after this one. Taylor is 127th, while Silverman is 135th.
"I don’t feel relief," Silverman said, of his bounce-back round, "I feel I’m [five] shots back of the lead, and I need to stay inside that top 10 to lock with my card, so I’m still going to be pushing to try to catch the leaders as soon as I can, and then contend to win this tournament."
Taylor, meanwhile, isn’t focused on the ‘low Canadian’ honour that goes to—you guessed it—the Canadian with the best finish this week.
"If I play well and I’m low Canadian, that’s great, but I’m trying to win a golf tournament," he said. "That should take care of it."
Taylor will almost certainly better his best-ever finish at a Canadian Open, which is T53, recorded as an amateur at his debut in 2008. But he isn’t putting any pressure on himself, and he swears he didn’t feel "any nerves" on Friday.
His plan Friday night is much the same as it was Thursday: Relax, eat a home-cooked meal (he and his wife, Andie, are staying in a house nearby, along with a couple other golfers and their wives) and then "go straight to bed," he said.
He’ll take a quick peak at that leaderboard, too. "Just a glance," Taylor said. "I won’t be studying it too much. I’m going to relax and come out here tomorrow and hope for more of the same."
In other words, another personal best at his national open, which should leave him in mighty fine shape heading into Sunday.
