By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf

Nick Taylor went head to head with two of the best players in the world and never blinked. And while the Abbotsford native had to settle for second place, he earned one heck of a nice consolation prize at the PGA TOUR’s WM Phoenix Open.

Taylor took home $2.18 million as he finished the star-stacked $20-million event at TPC Scottsdale at 17-under par, two shots behind new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler...

Playing in the final group with Jon Rahm and Scheffler, Taylor played exquisite golf as he closed with a six-under 65. He pulled even with Scheffler early on the back nine, but the American grabbed the lead for good when he eagled the par 5 13th hole. His lone bogey came on the par 3 16th, when he couldn’t get up and down for par and Scheffler did.

“I played great today,” Taylor said. “I felt like I didn’t make any mistakes maybe until 16. But I really felt like that was a great swing off the tee there . . .I would love that chip back. I felt like that was one I could actually hole. It was a still a tricky chip, but one I would like to do a bit better. But I putted great all day, hit a lot of great shots, so I don’t have a lot of complaints.”

While he has displayed good form of late, Taylor did not have a great history at TPC Scottsdale, despite practicing there regularly. In eight previous starts at the WM Phoenix Open, Taylor had finished no better than tied for 49th. But he got off to a nice start, playing the back nine in 30 shots en route to a 66 in the first round.

He fired four rounds in the 60s and never looked out of sorts. “I have been playing well, but my track record here is really not that great,” Taylor said.

“I’ve worked a lot on my putting. Kind of changed my grip (to a claw) over the fall. I putted great this week. That has kind of been my Achilles heel out here. I have always hit it pretty nice, but just wasn’t able to read the greens that great. Once I saw some putts going in I definitely got some confidence and rolled a lot of nice putts.”

He rolled what looked to be a nice birdie putt on the par 4 17th, only to see it lip-out. “That would have made things a little more interesting on 18,” Taylor said.

Fellow Abbotsford product Adam Hadwin also contended all week. Hadwin was just three back to start the day and birdied his first hole before fading in the middle of his round. He rallied to finish tied for 10th at 10-under par and made $485,000. Hadwin and fellow Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes were greenside to congratulate Taylor after his round. “To show their support and show up is great,” Taylor said.

“It would have been nice if I was holding the trophy with them there, too.” Taylor, Hadwin and fellow British Columbian Adam Svensson of Surrey, who missed the cut in Phoenix, are all in the field for this week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Golf Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

GOOD MEMORIES: The WM Phoenix Open always rekindles some great memories for Vancouver pro Cory Renfrew, who Monday qualified his way into the event in 2015. Renfrew, who now teaches out of Modern Golf in Richmond, made the cut on the number and had a memorable final round. The former UBC standout fired a five-under 66 on Sunday that included a chip-in birdie on the infamous par 3 16th at TPC Scottsdale. (See Video Clip Below).

https://youtu.be/sPPXJEy_sGY

“The shot I hit on 16 was actually a good shot,” Renfrew said. “I was just pumped up and carried the ball too far. But on the chip-in I was just trying to block everything out and focus on my little landing spot and luckily it went in. The reaction from the fans was awesome. I think they were shocked, too. When you watch the video you see one person kind of almost accidentally throw a beer and then the rest go after it.” Renfrew tied for 59th that year (along with Nick Taylor) and made $13,734.

OPEN QUALIFIER: Vancouver Golf Club will make a little history in May when it plays host to the first U.S. Women’s Open qualifier to be contested in Canada. The 36-hole qualifier is scheduled for Monday, May 15th and will see at least one player advance to this summer’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on California’s Monterey Peninsula. The field will be capped at 78 players.

Vancouver Golf Club has a long history with women’s golf, having played host to the former du Maurier Championship and, more recently, two Canadian Women’s Opens. “We are kind of thrilled at the prospect of it,” said head professional Sean Thompson.

“With us hosting the Canadian Women’s Open in 2012 and 2015, there’s a certain heritage here for female professional golf and we certainly felt it was aligned with what our membership would enjoy. And after two years of not being able to host many events or outside events, it’s certainly nice to be back involved with the local golf community in British Columbia.”

The number of qualifying spots have not yet been determined, but one or two seems likely. In 2022, there were three international qualifying sites. England had three qualifying spots, Japan had six and South Korea had two.

EWART FOURTH: Coquitlam’s A.J. Ewart got his final spring collegiate season off to a nice start with a tie for fourth at the Matlock Collegiate Classic in Lakeland, Fla. Ewart, now in his senior year at Barry University in south Florida, completed the 54-hole event at four-over par. That was three shots behind teammate Felipe Alvarez, who won in a playoff over Freddie Parlby of Florida Southern.

AMES ON TARGET: Vancouver resident Stephen Ames earned his third career victory on the PGA Champions circuit, winning the Trophy Hassan II tourney in Morocco. Ames recorded 18 straight pars in his final round to finish at nine-under par. That was five shots clear of runner-up Mark Hensby of Australia. The win was worth $320,000 US to Ames.

SOLID START: Surrey’s Angela Arora registered a top 10 in her collegiate golf debut. Arora, who joined the University of Tennessee in January, tied for 10th place at the Collegiate Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her 54-hole score of six-over par was the best among the five Tennessee players competing at the event.

BAD NEWS: The worst-case scenario has become a reality for Redwoods Golf Course in Langley. Management at Redwoods, which has been closed since April 18, 2022 due to work on the TransMountain Pipeline, had held out hope that the course might finally re-open this fall. That is now being ruled out.

“Currently, a lot of pipeline work still needs to be completed before we can even start refurbishing the 22 acres of land that need full renovations,” Redwoods said last week in a newsletter to its customers. “With this in mind, we are begrudgingly anticipating a spring 2024 reopening.”

Redwoods did have some good news to share with its customers. Its driving range, which is undergoing extensive renovations, will be reopening this spring.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING: UBC’s men’s golf team begins its spring season at this week’s Orange County Collegiate Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton. The T-Birds remain in California the following week to play in The Joust tournament in Riverside. The Simon Fraser University men’s team begins its spring season Feb. 21 at the Rattler Invitational in San Antonio, Tex.

NEW PRESIDENT: Ashley Zibrik, head professional at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, has been sworn in as the 42nd president of the PGA of BC. Zibrik becomes the first woman to serve in the role. She succeeds Adam Blair, executive professional at Vernon Golf Club, who becomes past president.

CHIP SHOTS: Merritt’s Roger Sloan missed the cut by one shot at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Astara Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia. The Korn Ferry Tour now takes a break and resumes March 23-26 at The Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Ga. . .This summer’s PGA of BC Championship will be played Aug. 14-15 at Revelstoke Golf Club.