SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Nick Taylor clawed his way back from a three-shot deficit with four holes to go using a claw grip with his putter that propelled him to victory at the WM Phoenix Open.
Taylor birdied five of his last six holes at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday in an incredible display of putting to shoot a bogey-free 6-under 65 and win a two-hole sudden-death playoff over Charley Hoffman.
Taylor dropped his putter and clenched his fists as he birdied 18 for the third consecutive time – once in regulation and twice in the playoff — the final time from 15 feet. It marked the fourth career PGA Tour title for Taylor, who finished runner-up here last year.
“The finish was pretty dream-like,” he said.
Thirteen months ago at the Sony Open, at the suggestion of his short-game coach Gareth Raflewski, the Canadian Taylor switched to putting with a claw grip in which the left hand holds the club firmly and the right hand rotates so the palm faces his thighs. The grip is pinched “clawlike” by the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, and used to guide the stroke in a pendulum arc.
“My setup got much cleaner, my face rotation slowed down, so we’ve done the same drills for a year, just constantly repeating them over and over again,” he said. “I felt like growing up the claw was kind of a stigma. If you went to that, you probably struggled on the greens, but for me, once I committed to it, I haven’t turned back, and I’ve never putted better than the last year.”
Pros trying to improve their putting is considered golf’s endless and seemingly most futile search, but for Taylor, who dubbed himself as a streaky putter, it has been a game-changer, turning the biggest weakness in his game into a strength. Taylor famously holed a 72-foot eagle putt to win the 2023 Canadian Open in a playoff and end a 69-year drought for Canadians in their national open.
Having already won in his native land, Taylor, 35, added his hometown event. He has been a local resident since he graduated from University of Washington in 2010, and practices at TPC Scottsdale frequently. And yet until last year, he had always struggled reading the greens at TPC Scottsdale. That wasn’t the case this year as he holed 184 feet, 6 inches of putts in the first round, a personal high watermark. He gained 7.2 strokes on the greens, the fifth-best 18-hole performance in the ShotLink era dating to 2004, en route to tying the course record with an 11-under 60.
“I putted out of my mind,” Taylor said.
He followed with rounds of 70-68 and shared the 54-hole lead, but he trailed Hoffman by three strokes with four holes to go before his putter turned deadly one more time. He sank a clutch 10-foot birdie at 18 to force a playoff, and drained birdie putts of 15 feet and 11 feet in extra holes. For the week, he made 459 feet, 9 inches of putts, the most in the field and the best in Taylor’s 260 career Tour starts.
NICK TAYLOR IS CLUTCH! pic.twitter.com/UdJpm2JwZ7
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 12, 2024
On Saturday evening, after the third round of the Phoenix Open was suspended due to darkness, Hoffman was asked what it would take to win the title.
“The lowest score,” he said with a wry smile.
The 47-year-old in his 19th year on the PGA Tour went out and gave it all he had. He wrapped up the third round when play resumed on Sunday with five birdies in his final six holes to shoot 7-under 64 and then matched that figure again to be the first player in the clubhouse with a 72-hole total of 21-under 263. Hoffman, a WM ambassador since 2007, was seeking his first title since 2016 but had to settle for his first top-10 since the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“I played my butt off,” Hoffman said. “I knew if I got to that 22 number it would be hard for (Taylor) to catch me, and left a putt short (at 18) in regulation. But I love the juices. I love competing. This builds a little fire in the belly. I definitely want to be back here.”
This time Taylor also managed to get the better of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was bidding to win the title for the third straight year. Scheffler charged with five birdies in a row on Sunday morning during the third round to trail by two heading into the final round. Then he reeled off four more birdies in a row starting at the second to take the lead at 17 under. Taylor’s reaction to seeing the world No. 1 charge? “Oh, boy,” he said.
But Scheffler’s putter let him down in crunch time as he lipped out for par from 6 feet at No. 7, missed for birdie from 8 feet at the ninth and most disappointing of all, failed to make a 3-foot birdie attempt at 13. A final-round 66 made for a valiant effort to defend the title – had he won they may have re-named the course TPC Scottie-Dale – but it came up short (T-3).
“I’d say I’m a bit frustrated. I didn’t really finish the way I wanted to, but I gave myself a good chance this week,” Scheffler said. “Just wasn’t able to close.”
Weather delays totaling nearly seven hours had been a big part of the tournament’s story and so it was only fitting that there would be more one more on Sunday, a 76-minute frost delay, and a sudden-death playoff.
After players completed the third round, they had 10 minutes before they were sent back out for the final round. Hoffman made an eagle and six birdies in his first 15 holes to reach 21 under and build a three-stroke lead. But Taylor seized the moment.
“To find my swing a bit the last nine or ten holes and make some birdies was incredible,” Taylor said.
