MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 11, 2025

Nick Taylor

Quick Quotes

Q. Well, the streak is over, I guess, but it was a good line. In order to compete on the weekend you have to make it to the weekend. How happy are you to put four rounds together here?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it's never the objective but it certainly has crossed my mind. Today coming in I wasn't trying to protect necessarily, but it's just tricky out there. You can't really -- you don't want to have your foot on the gas but you've also got to be mindful of where the things end, pick your targets, commit to it. Dave and I did a good job of that.

To really only have one bogey, I didn't play 18 great but it was playing difficult with that with wind hard off the left. To have that one bogey there is pretty good.

Q. A lot of scrambling going on, talk us through that stretch and how hard mentally it was.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, 11 is brutal back into the wind there and made a nice chip, so I played that hole probably like a lot of guys, kind of short right of the green and hope to get up-and-down.

12 is always tough. I think here what people probably -- until you play is probably committing to a shot. It's 150 yards, but committing that it's going to go that far, not have a little bit of wind into you which then obviously the water is in play, I decided to hit a flatter shot and it went right through the wind.

So to make a nice par save there was huge. Actually I hit a rock on 13 and had a great chance to hit the green in two there and I hit a great shot if it was a foot left it's in the middle of the green, but to be able to make a good save there was big, as well.

Yeah, to play those with three pars was nice. I felt like 14, 15, 17 I had some good chances and wasn't able to drop, but if you drive it a little bit better I'll give myself more chances.

Q. What's the biggest thing you've learned about playing Augusta National in past years that you've applied to this year?

NICK TAYLOR: I think missing in the right spots but also trying to be as sharp as you can around the greens. You're not going to be perfect here; nobody can be. It's trying to scramble as well as possible.

I think I kept my wits about that and did a good job of scrambling well. That's huge around here. You're going to have birdie chances and you'd love to make some of those, but minimizing the damage, making up pars as many times as possible when you're out of position is key.

Q. How mentally demanding is this golf course compared to others?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I'm tired. Honestly, the last two years with -- I would say the last two days were probably relatively normal conditions with the wind, but last year in comparison to when I only played it in November, there really was no wind, it was soft, it wasn't playing nearly like it normally is.

It's just so tricky. It's so taxing because, like you said, you got to make a decision but you've really got to commit to that decision, and if you're not, you're going to make some loose swings. From there it's really difficult.

Yeah, it's just a long, hard day, and you've got to stay focused as long as you can.

Q. You said that making the cut is not the end goal, but when you've had some struggles at major championships, do you feel it sort of unlocks, puts that to bed and can unlock the potential to playing so well the past few years?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, certainly. I knew coming in I felt like I was in a better spot mentally. My game was as good as it's ever been.

Again, to be able to perform when you feel that way, hopefully it unlocks it. Saturday has always been a fun day for me. I feel like getting over that Friday cut loosens you up and you can play as free as you can. I don't know where I'll end up. I'll probably be somewhere middle of the pack for the weekend and hopefully shoot a low one.

Q. Does your mindset change going into this tournament like some guys say I'll treat it differently than a normal week; some guys try and treat it the same. Have you changed your philosophy?

NICK TAYLOR: No, I don't think you do. Look, it is different, and it's easy to make it bigger than it is. But each golf shot is the same as you are if I'm playing the RBC Heritage next week or the Zurich with Adam. You've got to make your decisions, commit to them.

It's just a little more difficult here, and there's more at stake potentially if you're up near the lead. But when it all boils down to, you're just trying to hit the same shot as you normally would be.

Q. Can I ask you about Justin Hastings --

NICK TAYLOR: I'm going to call him a fellow Canuck because both his parents are Canadian.

Q. I'm curious what you saw from him.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, the kid is very impressive. I believe it was winning the Latin America Amateur Championship, really impressive. He made some phenomenal saves both days. To kind of come down 18, make that putt to hopefully make the cut, I guess we'll see if this wind picks up, but no, he scrambled really well.

It was impressive, so it was fun. He's also an oilers fan, though, so it's questionable.

Q. Did you see anything from Corey on Tuesday that would have pointed in the direction of thinking --

NICK TAYLOR: I've seen a lot for the last few months that I'm not surprised at all by Corey. I think a lot of these holes fit his eye. He's been playing phenomenal. Everyone knows that. He's just in a great head space. He's seeing the shots, hitting them, and for me, the sharpest part about his game is probably around the greens and on the greens that I've ever seen.

He's always driven it on a string and been a great ball striker, but whatever he's found around the greens and on them, he's been working hard, and it's fun to watch.