SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 14, 2026

Nick Taylor

Waialae Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome our defending champion of the Sony Open in Hawai'i, Nick Taylor. Nick is making his tenth start at the Sony Open in Hawai'i. He's had four straight top 11 finishes, including the win last year.

Nick, if you can take us back to 2025 and getting your fifth PGA TOUR victory here in Hawai'i.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I was talking with my caddie, Dave, today. There was quite a few points in that final round, let alone the tournament where I didn't think winning was really in the cards.

But stayed patient, just let the rounds come to me, and obviously chipping in on 18 for eagle to give myself an opportunity, and then the playoff was really wild as well to be able to finish that off.

So I've played great like you said this tournament for several years in a row. A lot of tee shots fit my eye. I've read the greens quite well over the years. It's definitely a comfortable place to come back to.

Q. Talk a little bit about your season as a whole last year and also your goals for this year.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it was a very consistent season. I was proud of the fact I kept kind of pushing, having good results after the win, after a great start to the season. To make TOUR Championship in any season I feel like is a marker for a very successful season.

So, yeah, this year is a lot of the same. For me a lot of the my goals in the last handful of years have been process goals to get me to be the best I can be. It's a Presidents Cup year, so definitely something I'll be asked about or think about enough that it's important, but so for away that it's not really a huge focus currently.

But, yeah, I have all the majors this year as well and try to improve on some results in those. Big year ahead.

Q. This is, as I mentioned, your fifth PGA TOUR win here last year. What is the key to defending a title? Talk a little bit about that.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, couple years for example in Canada it was a different golf course, so that made it different when you defend. But the last two that I've done at Waste Management and here is same golf course, so obviously I have good vibes coming back, golf courses I feel comfortable at.

It's trying to stay in my own world. There will be like this media stuff that hypes it up a little bit, but if I stick to my process, and, again, the golf course I feel very comfortable on, so just try to let things take care of themselves.

Q. Welcome back.

NICK TAYLOR: Thank you.

Q. So nothing is apparently set in stone yet, but if this is the last time here, how much will you miss it and what will you...

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it'll be a place that I'll miss a lot, not just this tournament, but the state of Hawai'i. It's one with Maui being such an awesome event over the years feeling like such an accomplishment to play there. Other than last couple years if win you're playing in that golf tournament.

It just felt like it was a great start to the year. So like you said, nothing set in stone. It'll still be a place I'm going to visit. I don't know about annually after that. We'll see. My wife, we're going to miss it.

Yeah, it'll be a year that I guess we won't take it as much for granted this year with potentially things changing.

Q. On the other side of the coin, from what you've heard about the proposal, what are some of the things you like?

NICK TAYLOR: You know, if more of an offseason is something that results in this, I have two young kids, that's something would be very valuable.

Yeah, again, I know as much as probably everybody in this room, so there is a lot of the things I don't quite know. Extending the offseason I think nobody would complain about that, so that would be something I would definitely take advantage of, spend more time with family and be at home.

Q. What is it about playoffs? You're unbeaten. Probably NFL teams are calling you.

NICK TAYLOR: A lot of openings these days.

Q. Seriously, in this playoffs is there a mentality that switches for you going into a sudden death playoff?

NICK TAYLOR: I think there is something over the years where in those moments things just become a little more clear. My decision making, there is a lot of clarity, the targets that I choose. For me, I just free up a little bit more, which is something honestly I think about a lot. How can I emulate those feelings in the Thursday rounds, the Friday, where I've been here for 12 years and still thinking about the cut at times.

Seems like because of the importance I just get a little more clear. Again, I've had a great record. Doesn't mean going forward if I am in a playoff it is, but it does seem that I get just clear pictures and be able to execute them.

Q. Nick, two straight years with wins in the first two months of the season. As you've become a veteran on the TOUR, how do you think you got your mind and game right early in the year to be able to accomplish that?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I think having some time off, rest. Working on the rest side more so than just the physical golf swing stuff has been a difference in the last handful of years. I have really loved the West Coast golf courses since I got on TOUR. I've had a lot of great results at Pebble, here, the last handful of years. Just golf courses that kind of fit my eye and fit my game a little bit better, so I think that's part of it.

Yeah, been nice to start of the West Coast with a bang the last couple years. You know, even three years ago finishing second at Waste Management and having good other finishes. Again, the courses kind of fit my eye. I've had time off to rest and recover but worked on the right things and just kind of been able to hit the ground running.

Q. A Presidents Cup year. Obviously a goal to be on the team.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah.

Q. Does that change anything in your approach this season?

NICK TAYLOR: No, it doesn't. I feel like I learned a lot from a couple years ago where four months out was something that I was -- A, we were asked a lot about it because of the importance in Canada and Weir being the captain, but probably just put too much pressure on myself and was more so getting -- just overthinking a lot of things. Results, got to have this finish to be able to do this.

I'll try to learn from that and this year, again, just stick to what I was doing. I think last year doing great job winning early and sticking to those processes and having results throughout the entire season, that's kind of my recipe and what I got to try to do this year.

Q. Just a quick two-parter. Hawai'i is not a bad place to start the year. How is the course looking and playing this week? Have the interactions with the volunteers or people on the course been different since being the current reining champ?

NICK TAYLOR: Everyone has always been great here on the second part of the question. It's great coming back here. I spend a lot of time in Vancouver in December which is cold and rainy, so excited to get here anyway. Have some family and friends come here. More so than normal just because of winning last year.

To the course, it's playing similar. Greens are receptive right now. I feel like that's always kind of early in the week here, and then if we don't get much rain the fairways really firm up. The greens stay semi receptive, but the challenge is off the tee, finding fairways. With the doglegs it's easy to chase them through and you just got to be in position.

The course, again, is quite similar to years past.

Q. If I could circle back to the playoff aspect, last year we talked a little bit about how it's sort of like match play. I was curious when as you were a kid growing up you played other sports where you always had another person as an opponent or teams playing against other people all the time as opposed to golf?

NICK TAYLOR: Uh-huh. Yeah, I played lots of sports growing up. I feel like the competitiveness in me is always A, I wanted to win. Golf was actually one of the later sports I started playing when I was 10 or 11.

But, yeah, just as a kid growing up doing chipping putting contests, it just builds that competitive fire of pulling off shots and trying to beat your friends for a golf ball for five bucks.

You know, as I got older I realized the importance of that growing up that translates onto the golf course. Again, just being always competitive at everything I did growing up and still to this day has certainly helped me in those scenarios.

And when it comes to match play mentality, I've always enjoyed match play as well and had success in amateur golf doing that as well. All of that encompasses some the of success in playoffs.

Q. I'm not trying to stereotype you because you're from Canada, but was hockey one of the sports?

NICK TAYLOR: Yep, I played hockey.

Q. What were some of the other ones?

NICK TAYLOR: Baseball for a good amount of time. High school sports, basketball, volleyball. Yeah, so, you know, I wasn't some all-star athlete, but played enough to find out exactly what I love. Golf was one I gravitated towards because I think the individualness of it. I felt like if I put the time in and did that I was going to see results. I liked that I didn't have to rely on anybody. Just me on my own.

So that was kind of what drew me to golf when I was younger.

Q. Last one. Sounds look you might recommend diversity in playing sports for kids, which a lot of people, medical people, say is a good thing to do.

NICK TAYLOR: 100% I do. I know the landscape of youth sports has dramatically changed since was playing. I've talked to a lot of people in pro-ams, parents, I have two young kids that hopefully eventually get into some sports, but the expectation of time now with certain youth sports is so different than when I grew up.

So it's hard to say now. I'll be in that world probably at some point sooner than later, but, yeah, I think playing a bunch of sports until you're 12 or 31 never a bad thing. You're going to get a taste of what is going on and develop some skills that you might not if you just do one single sport.

Q. Last question here. Adidas has announced that they're going to be assisting First Tee of Canada. $300 for every birdie and eagle that you make this year.

NICK TAYLOR: Uh-huh.

Q. If you can comment about that what means to assist the youth, teaching them life skills through the game of golf.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it's tremendous that adidas kind of partnered with us. With the charity event, this will be our tenth year this coming fall, but the First Tee has been a big part of our beneficiary groups that we've done.

Last year wasn't even an ambassador for Canada for the First Tee. We opened a chapter in Chilliwack, close to where I grew up. For adidas to jump on and be able to raise money, hopefully I make a bunch of birdies this year, it's fantastic.

So very appreciative of adidas to do that. And, again, just to support kids getting into golf. Part of our event is Jump Start. We gets kids into sports in general but obviously golf. I would love for kids to get into that as well. Teaches a lot of great values. Yeah, it's a great thing to kickoff this year.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thanks, Nick. We appreciate your time and best of luck this week.

NICK TAYLOR: Thank you.