Normally at “The Bear Trap” at PGA National, it’s the water lurking everywhere that can be the most terrifying aspect for a tour pro. As Nick Taylor came to find out on Thursday, the land ain’t that much safer, either.
In his opening round, Taylor arrived at the par-3 17th at five-over par, a round he could have salvaged with a birdie-birdie finish. He was on track for just that after his tee shot at the 145-yarder, hitting one to four feet, 10 inches and setting up a great look at a much-needed circle on the scorecard.
That circle quickly turned into a double box in a matter of seconds, as Taylor four-putted for a disastrous double-bogey without ever even sniffing the aqua:
The Bear Trap bites in many different ways.
5-foot birdie putt. Double bogey. pic.twitter.com/ZdeISwUFqg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 25, 2022
Absolutely cruel. Also, raise your hand if you thought he was going to miss the double-bogey putt, too (slowly raises hand). Usually, the cavalier, one-handed sweep never ends well either. Taylor was fortunate it rattled the bottom of the cup.
The good news? This story might have a happy ending. On Friday morning, Taylor, who finished Thursday with a seven-over 77, made birdie on his second hole, the par-4 11th, then did this at the par-4 13th:
Right at the pin for eagle.@NTaylorGolf59 holes it out from 121 yards.
pic.twitter.com/E2nmYZhIkp
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 25, 2022
Two holes later, Taylor returned to The Bear Trap and got some sweet, sweet revenge. He parred 15, birdied 16 and birdied 17:
Redemption on 17 today @NTaylorGolf59
https://t.co/k8OgeM31fb pic.twitter.com/fiDyez8Q4s
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 25, 2022
After a par on 18, Taylor turned in five-under 30, an eight-shot improvement from his back-nine 38 on Thursday. In the process, he’s vaulted 52 spots up the leaderboard from seven-over to two-over, just one shot outside the projected cut line. Considering how early it is on Friday, the cut could move to two-over or even three-over very quickly at PGA National, so Taylor’s in a pretty good spot despite a brutal Day 1.
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