Sport BC Announces Nick Taylor as the
Best of B.C. Award Recipient
Taylor’s Playoff Prowess Earns Best of B.C. Honour
For Immediate Release – February 15, 2024 (Vancouver, BC)
The Best of BC Award, supported by the Province of British Columbia, is presented to an individual or team thought to have represented British Columbia, nationally or internationally, in either a professional or amateur sport.
When Nick Taylor drained an eagle putt to win the 2023 RBC Canadian Open in June, it was difficult to discern who was more astonished – the partisan Canadian gallery, rival Tommy Fleetwood, or the Abbotsford golfer himself.
Taylor bravely slapped in a daunting 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole at Oakdale Golf and Country Club to win the event over England’s Fleetwood, becoming the first Canadian in 69 years to win the Canadian Open. His dramatic and historic playoff win unleashed unbridled celebration across the country and the effort would later be recognized with Golfweek’s 2023 Shot of the Year Award.
The win, coupled with PGA tournament second-place finishes at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open and Zurich Classic of New Orleans, has now earned Taylor another honour as the 35-year-old will be recognized with the Best of BC Award at the 56th B.C. Athlete of the Year Awards March 7 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The Best of B.C. Award is presented annually to an individual or team deemed to have best represented the province in national or international competition, in a professional or amateur sport.
An alumnus of Yale Secondary, Taylor was ranked the world’s No.1 amateur golfer for a time in 2009. He turned pro in 2010 and won his first PGA tour event at the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship. His second win came at the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am and the third was his heroic effort at the 2023 Canadian Open.
The Canadian may well have ice in his veins as his fourth PGA victory also came in a recent playoff. On February 11, 2024, he again displayed enviable putting skills in the final round of the WM Phoenix Open, notching five birdie putts over the last six holes to catch tournament leader Charley Hoffman and force a playoff. Taylor sunk an 11-foot putt on the second extra hole to secure his fourth PGA Tour victory.
The Athlete of the Year Awards is a Sport BC annual event celebrating the accomplishments of the province’s best athletes, coaches, teams and officials.
The Best of B.C. Award is presented annually to an individual or team deemed to have best represented B.C, in national or international competition, in a professional or amateur sport. To name just a few previous recipients of the Best of B.C. include Christine Sinclair, Carey Price, Vasik Pospisil, Jon Cornish, and Lauren Woolstencroft.
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About Sport BC
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Athlete of the Year Awards Media Contact
Thursday, March 7, 2024 Allison Mailer
@SportBC Sport BC, VP Operations
#SportBC56thAOY allison.mailer@sportbc.com
778-839-8576