MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2026

Nick Taylor

Quick Quotes

Q. Solid first round. How would you explain your strategy you had and whether you were able to pull it off?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I feel like I played as planned. 15 was one, I had 3-wood out going for it in two. I had 245 front. But the wind was all over the map. I didn't really trust what the wind was doing, and I didn't want to kind of take that risk on.

I ended up getting a swirling wind and I flew the green with a wedge and I made a good up-and-down for par, so I kind of made a mess of it anyway. But that was the trickiness today. The back nine there wasn't much wind, but it was tough to know where it was coming from, and that's what made it hard.

Q. Seemed like most of your game was on. Was there anything that stood out in particular that was really sharp?

NICK TAYLOR: You know, iron play stood up again. Hit a lot of greens. There was a few shots quite close to being birdie opportunity, take a slope and it's 40 feet, but hit a lot of greens. My speed has been very nice on the greens.

Again, that's probably why I made a whole bunch of pars. Again, I need to be a little bit tighter on the par-5s to give myself more opportunities. That's kind of the goal for tomorrow.

Q. The putt on 10, what did you see and how good did it feel to drain that one after the tricky one on 9?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, that was a nice one. You know going left, it's quicker, breaking a lot left, going up towards that back right pin it goes a bit left. It was one of those, it looked pretty good the whole way, and for it to drop was pretty nice, after especially having a good opportunity on 9 and missing it. But like I said, my speed was pretty good all day, so it was nice for that one to drop.

Q. What was the wind like on 12?

NICK TAYLOR: It was supposed to be down, almost a little off the left. The flag was whipping hard from the right. We played it kind of down off the right and I hit a nice shot there.

But yeah, that whole area, obviously, everyone knows you kind of have to pick one and guess and hope it's right. Again, luckily it looks like the wind is not going to be crazy the next few days. That probably won't be as difficult as today. But that was the tricky part the last few holes.

Q. You've played your fair share of majors. Does the first tee here still give you some butterflies or adrenaline?

NICK TAYLOR: For sure. Always some sort of nerves here. It's a special one. I don't know if it's the no-phones thing, but people are engaged. They're present. You walk in the tunnel with people, you know what to expect here. It's a fun way to start.

Q. You give yourself a birdie look at 1, an eagle look at 2. That must also calm you down pretty quickly out there?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I got a decent break on 1, hit it a little right, it kicked kind of backwards but into the fairway and hit a nice approach there. 2 was one -- that might be my strategy going through through with 3-wood the next couple days. I liked doing that today. Hit a great shot there today to have an eagle chance and just barely missed. It was nice to start the day off hitting fairways and greens.

Q. What kind of course conditions do you prefer to play Augusta National in?

NICK TAYLOR: Probably this. When it's long, it's a big advantage for certain holes, and by long, I mean the balls plug in the fairway. I like there's a bit of chase. Got to be a little more precise with the irons. Yeah, the course is playing a bit shorter, but obviously on the greens it's very difficult. So I think that gives myself the best chance.

Q. The confidence in your short game around the greens, we know on 18 that ball didn't even look like it thought about checking, but the confidence in your short game --

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I think -- I don't know where that 7-iron landed. It was a good shot, but that's for a lot of guys. When it's playing longer and I have 5-iron, it's definitely not stopping. Yeah, I have confidence in my short game, but I think it playing firmer, it just makes the course more difficult, and I think I'd rather prefer that.

Q. How many 3-woods did you hit today?

NICK TAYLOR: It was just 2 and then 10. Those are kind of the two holes -- they go right to left, so that's probably what I'll do. I'll lay back on 3. I think every other hole was a driver today.

Q. With your son starting kindergarten and him not traveling as much as in years past, how special is it to play like this when everyone is here and they were part of your day yesterday?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, it's great. I've been lucky since they were born, they've traveled a lot. It's different now. I did the whole Florida Swing by myself, and not seeing them for three weeks sucks. But yeah, being able to bring them out for a special event like this, they're going to be able to come the next week, yeah, I've loved every tournament they've come to, but it makes it more special when you know it's a more rarity now than it used to be.