Sony Open win sets Canadian golfer Nick Taylor up nicely as major tournaments approach

Of the many congratulatory messages Nick Taylor received after his fifth PGA Tour win, there was one from Canadian golf legend Mike Weir.

Weir was the Presidents Cup captain who omitted Taylor from the International Team last September, instead picking fellow Canadians Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith to play at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

"There's certainly no ill will there," Taylor said in a media conference on Tuesday after winning the Sony Open in dramatic fashion on the weekend. "I'm sure there are people saying things about it, but no. Mike's always has been great, and it was very nice for him to reach out."

The 36-year-old Taylor claimed victory on the second event of the season in Waialae, Hawaii on Sunday, winning on the second playoff hole with a birdie against Colombia's Nico Echavarria.

Taylor drilled home a 60-foot pitch shot for a 72nd-hole eagle to get into a playoff.

"Mike sent me a nice message of congratulations, and we talked a bit about the pitches," Taylor said.

Taylor didn't do himself any favours in his bid to make the International team. After he captured the Waste Management Phoenix Open last February, Taylor checked in with only one top-10 result, and that was a tie for 10th with fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event.

But this was the third year in a row the Abbotsford, B.C.-raised golfer has won on the PGA Tour with a playoff. Taylor joins an elite group, as Bubba Watson (2010-12), Ernie Els (2002-04), Phil Mickelson (2000-02) and Tiger Woods (1999-01) are the only others to accomplish the feat.

In his latest three wins, Taylor has demonstrated a flair for the dramatic. Before his clutch chip-in eagle on Sunday, Taylor finished with three