Nick Taylor never looked more clutch than when he birdied the 18th hole three times in , first to force a playoff and the last to win it.

And then he went 23 starts over 11 months without a top 10.

Who can forget before a delirious home crowd? During the next seven months and 12 tournaments, he had only one top 10.

The trade-off for the 36-year-old Canadian are the trophies 鈥� one in each of the last three years and five overall.

The latest came Sunday (Jan. 12) at the Sony Open in Hawaii 鈥� when he least expected it. Taylor on the last hole, made a 10-foot birdie putt to stay in the game and won it with a perfectly clipped wedge to just inside three feet for birdie to beat Nico Echavarria in a playoff.

Taylor earned a cool $1.566 USD in the win. He shot rounds of 66, 68, 65 and 65 to capture the title. Taylor also earned 500 FedEx Cup with the win.

鈥淚 really love the trophies,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淏ut I would also love to be more consistent.鈥�

Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., plays practice rounds often with another Canadian, Corey Conners, and their history oddly runs deep. Conners played with him in the weekday rounds when Taylor won in Canada and Hawaii, and Taylor played with Conners the opening two rounds when Conners won in Texas.

Conners has been a greater model of consistency, with only one win since 2020.

鈥淚鈥檝e played with Corey a lot in practice rounds and tournaments. He鈥檚 somebody I aspire to be with his consistency. He鈥檚 phenomenal,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hat being said, I really enjoy being in moments and being able to close the deal and to win tournaments is ultimately what we鈥檙e trying to do. Again, yeah, consistency. I would love to get there to his level.鈥�

Last year was particularly discouraging because so much was at stake 鈥� battling for a spot in the Olympics, and the Presidents Cup being held at Royal Montreal with Canadian Mike Weir as the International captain.

Taylor looked like a shoo-in when he won the Phoenix Open, only to go into a funk 鈥� only one finish in the top 20 (tie for 12th at Bay Hill), missed cuts in all four majors and a disappointing phone call when Weir left him off the team.

He also failed to finish in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup, which would have assured Taylor played in all the $20 million signature events.

鈥淣ot making top 50 I knew would make the next year just not where I wanted to be. Not making the Presidents Cup definitely hurt,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淚 had more myself to blame. I felt like I put Mike in a tough situation. On top of that, I had to play more in the fall than I had originally planned and be away from family a few times.鈥�

Taylor put in some work in the short off-season 鈥� and was eager to start a West Coast that featured some of his favourite courses and three signature events at least staying (barely) in the top 60 in the FedEx Cup.

Now he can bank on a return to the Masters and a spot in all the signature events.

鈥淭o have this good of a start is awesome,鈥� he said.

So was the finish.

Taylor was two shots behind when he missed 4-foot birdie putts on the 15th and 16th holes and figured that was his last chance.

But then he chipped in for eagle, the leaders behind him 鈥� Stephan Jaeger and J.J. Spaun 鈥� each dropped a shot and failed to birdie the 18th. That left Taylor and Echavarria, a promising Chilean who has been on a tear recently.

Echavarria, who had some clutch moments of his own on the closing four holes, had the upper hand in the playoff until Taylor made a touch pitch up a steep slope and made a 10-foot birdie. Echavarria again had the advantage on the second playoff hole, 40 feet away on the fringe, while Taylor was back in the fairway 46 yards away.

The pitch was perfect by Taylor. The putt by Echavarria came off soft, stopped 7 feet away and he missed the birdie putt.

Taylor鈥檚 last three PGA Tour victories were all in a playoff 鈥� four extra holes in Canada, two in Phoenix, two in Hawaii.

鈥淚 think I enjoy being in those moments. For whatever reason my mind gets clear in those situations of the shot I鈥檓 just trying to hit,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked on that the last couple years, why in those situation am I good and the other situations where I鈥檓 not consistent if I鈥檓 in 30th or something. We鈥檒l work on that. But nice start to the year, obviously.鈥�