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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

August 4, 2016

Vaughn Taylor

Cromwell, Connecticut

Q. The start was average: par, par, par, eight pars in a row, and all of a sudden you turned it on.
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah. I played good early. Just couldn't get the putts to go. Just didn't hit it quite close enough really.

Hit a good fairway bunker shot on 9 and hit a good putt there and kind of got things going.

Q. Got it going for five birdies in a row on the back side. Were you aware of anything else going on, or were you just in the zone then?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: I was feeling good and hitting some good shots. Putter started feeling better. You know, just get on a run sometimes and just kind of ride.

Q. Two great efforts on 17 and 18 on those long birdie putts. The mark on 18, did it just keep moving on you?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I mean, I was surprised it stayed on the green. It was on the side of that slope. I was careful where I marked it. I was trying to put it right back where it was.

Felt like I was rolling up against my coin, so I kept trying. Felt like it was hitting the coin. It actually wasn't. It was just short of the coin.

That was really the only (indiscernible.)

Q. 6-under 64, including five straight birdies at one point. What was the best thing you did today?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: The best thing I did today, I hit the driver good. Hit a lot of fairways with the driver. Gave myself some good chances from the fairway to get some good looks.

Q. When you won at Pebble Beach, it was your first win since 2005. You struggled a little bit since. What's been the issue since then?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: A little bit of everything. I thought coming out of Pebble my game was ready, but it just wasn't quite there. I've had to work on my swing a little bit. And putting and chipping. A little bit of everything.

I thought I was just going to keep it rolling, but that's golf. Just when you think you got it, you kind of got reassess.

It's good this week. Played well last week. Hopefully keep moving.

Q. Five birdies in a row. Didn't seem like you had a putt outside of ten feet during that run.
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, got a good wedge in there on 12 and then 13 is reachable; 14, hit a nice 8-iron in there five, six feet; good up and down on 15.

So that was a nice little run. I needed that. I was playing well and just needed something to kind of get me going.

Q. Great conditions obviously.
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, amazing conditions. I mean, it was a beautiful morning. Very little wind. The course is still a little soft, so it's gettable out there.

Q. When you're talking about giving yourself a chance, for you today it started off the tee, didn't it?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah. I had a lot of good short irons into the greens and wedges and things, so...

Playing out of rough is tough, especially for me. I'm not as good as some of the other guys out of the rough.

Being in the fairway is a huge plus.

Q. You've played here before. With the subtle changes that were made, did it affect you at all?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: No. They didn't change too much. They still kept the general slopes and things; still had some of the same pin placements. Was very familiar with what was going on, so it was good. Great changes they made. Everything looks better. The course looks great.

Q. I am sure this is something you've talked about the last six months. But I know it's your job, your profession, but the journey, the ten, eleven years between wins, what kept you going that whole journey, and was there ever a time that maybe, and then to have won again... Did you ever think possibly...
VAUGHN TAYLOR: You know, I think the love of the game kept me going. Most importantly I love this game. We all do. It's hard to play for a living if you don't. Finally things came together. I have a very supportive family and they kept me positive and in good spirits the whole time.

It was good through the rough times. It all worked out.

Q. Talk about after you won at Pebble and your wife, how she helped you. Talk more about that.
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, she's just so positive, almost annoyingly positive. (Laughter.) You know, we're best friends so we're always talking. She's always just keeping me positive, keeping my head up, keep me, working hard, and it's nice to have someone that will do that for you.

Q. Is she here this week?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, she's here.

Q. It's so hard to win on this TOUR. After you've done it - you did it when you were young - and go through your 30s, did you think, Maybe it's not there at all? Did you ever wonder?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, for sure. There were many, many days, many tournaments I wondered if I had it anymore. Unfortunately, as you get older, that's what people talk about, is you lose your hand-eye coordination. You got to work out. You lose your body. That plays on your mind. You think about those things and you wonder.

But golf is a great game, and you can play good golf well into your 50s.

Q. How much does it help you mentally that you don't have to worry about qualifying? You're exempt.
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, it's a huge relief. Just to have a place to play and you don't have to worry about keeping your card anymore. That weighs on you. Makes you tired thinking about all that stuff.

Q. How have you played since Pebble?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: I hadn't played the greatest. I had a rough stretch a couple months thereafter. Started playing good lately. Last month or so really seeing some improvement. Hopefully just keep improving and keep it going this week.

Q. Just drive up after PGA or how did your travel go?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: It was good. Travelers had a charter bus for us. It was great. Just jumped on the bus and took us about three hours to get here. Got here at a decent hour Sunday night.

Q. Your career has been up and down. You spoke earlier about keeping it going. What was the low point and did you ever consider quitting?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: I never considered quitting. I thought about it, but I never considered it.

I saw myself playing the Senior Tour. I didn't know how I was going to get there or what was going to happen, but I never considered quitting.

The low point was probably the week before Pebble. I just missed the cut in the first web.com event, and then I got this like 24-hour bug in Columbia the next week. I had to withdrawal.

So kind of felt like everything was just crashing down. Going into Pebble I had very little status on both tours. That was probably the lowest point.

Q. And Pebble was the high point?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah. Who can predict that?

Q. You ever wake up and wonder how Phil Mickelson missed the putt in the playoff after the way he played?
VAUGHN TAYLOR: Oh, yeah. I think about it all the time. You know, a memory I'll have forever. Just fortunate that things worked out the way they did. I played great but, but I was very fortunate.

Q. What does it take to win a tournament like this? You can't par your way to victory.
VAUGHN TAYLOR: You know, you just got to keep doing what you do. You can't think about scores and birdies and all that stuff.

At the same time, you got to think there are a bunch of guys right behind you and they're not afraid and going to keep pushing. You got to keep going.

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