WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 9, 2023

Nick Taylor

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. Heck of a round today, kind of a tale of two nines. Kind of assess the round and what you're feeling to be pretty good there.

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, I drove it really well from the start of the round. Like I said, the front I feel like is a tougher nine. You probably don't have as many chances as the back. To kind of see some putts roll in on 10 and 11 was nice and obviously to continue that on 12, was lucky to make a nice relatively easy birdie with a nice chip on 13. I wanted to keep it going because I knew I was swinging nice and hit a bunch of greens. To make birdies on 16 and 17 to cap it off was nice.

Q. You live here, right?

NICK TAYLOR: I do, yeah.

Q. Do you play here quite a bit?

NICK TAYLOR: I do, yeah. I practice here I would say mostly. I'll buzz over for nine --

Q. You've pretty much seen every kind of wind condition and probably weren't really surprised?

NICK TAYLOR: You know, it's usually out of the south. I don't see a whole lot of northeast winds here. So I've seen it, but it's still not as common.

So yeah, it's definitely the tougher of the winds, I feel like, especially coming down the stretch. All those holes are playing a lot longer than typical. Yeah, I've seen a lot of wind conditions, but this was one of the toughest stretches I've played out here.

Q. Obviously the course would be different during the tournament than you'd see it 51 weeks out of the year, too?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, totally. In the summer it's dormant and it's definitely pretty long leading up to it to prep for the event. Usually the week leading up to it is playing pretty close, but it's definitely a lot faster for the event.

Q. Did it feel like February in Canada this morning?

NICK TAYLOR: I was home over Christmas in Canada, and it was a little colder than this, but the last two weeks I've had enough cold. I'm ready for some heat.

Q. But you're used to these type of conditions?

NICK TAYLOR: Yeah, again, I feel like a lot of guys that grew up in the cold, we get asked that a lot. We did it a lot, but we probably prefer the heat now because we've moved south. I've played enough in it where I kind of know what to expect.

Q. What did you hit that set up the eagle at 3?

NICK TAYLOR: I hit a nice driver and hit 3-iron from the fairway, and it kind of landed on that right fringe and came in there.

Q. Wondering if you watch Brooke Henderson at all?

NICK TAYLOR: I do watch Brooke Henderson, yeah. I'm a big fan. She's obviously leading the way with all the wins she's been racking up the last handful of years. I've met Brooke a couple times, but no, she's playing phenomenal. She's fun to watch.

Q. How often do you watch her?

NICK TAYLOR: When she's in contention I try to turn it on. I think I was in Hawai'i when she won her last tournament, so I didn't get to see a whole lot of that, but whenever she's playing well, I try to turn it on and watch.

Q. Anything different today with your putting? Change putters or anything you're trying different this week?

NICK TAYLOR: No, I actually put a lot of time in the last few months out here trying to read them. They're very tricky for the most part, and in the past I've struggled reading them. I more so now read it over the ball. I think before, my eyes played tricks on me around here with some of the valley effect, and I kind of just threw that out and just try to read them. My caddie Dave has been reading the greens really well, too, so I've been pulling him in on a lot of putts.