Vaughn Taylor (golfer)

This article is about the professional golfer. For the actor, see Vaughn Taylor (actor).

Vaughn Joseph Taylor (born March 9, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour.

Vaughn Taylor
Personal information
Full name	Vaughn Joseph Taylor
Born	(1976-03-09) March 9, 1976 (age 49) Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Spouse	Leot Taylor, divorced
Children	1
Career
College	Augusta State University
Turned professional	1999
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Former tour(s)	Web.com Tour NGA Hooters Tour
Professional wins	8
Highest ranking	37 (April 15, 2007)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
Korn Ferry Tour	1
Other	4
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T10: 2007
PGA Championship	T28: 2005
U.S. Open	CUT: 1998, 2007
The Open Championship	T66: 2006

Early life

Taylor was born in Roanoke, Virginia. He was raised in Augusta, Georgia from infancy. He attended Hephzibah High School.^[2] Taylor played golf for Augusta State University where he was an honorable mention All-American his senior season.

Professional career

In 1999, Taylor turned professional. He played his early years on the Hooters and Nationwide Tours, getting valuable experience before playing his first full year with a PGA Tour card in 2004. He won four times on the NGA Hooters Tour, and once on the Nationwide Tour at the Knoxville Open. Taylor has three victories to his name on the PGA Tour; his first two victories coming in consecutive years at the Reno-Tahoe Open, an alternate event, in 2004 and 2005. His victory in 2004 was one of five wins by rookies that year and came after holing an 11-foot birdie on the first extra hole during a four-man sudden-death playoff. He had also previously had to sink a 14-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation play to make it into the playoff. In 2005, he led the event wire-to-wire and held a six-stroke advantage entering the final round, to claim a comfortable victory by three strokes from Jonathan Kaye.

After a year that included a career high six top-10s, Taylor qualified to play on the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the first time in 2006. He earned a half point for his team with a record of 0–1–1.

Taylor's highest world ranking was 37th in 2007 and career high in the FedEx Cup placing was 35th in 2010.

Taylor started the 2015–16 season playing on both the PGA Tour and Web.com Tour, having only past champion status on the PGA Tour after finishing 151st in the FedEx Cup, just a fraction of a point from conditional status. He made two starts on the PGA Tour before making two starts on the Web.com Tour, where he missed the cut in Panama and withdrew due to illness in Colombia. In February 2016, Taylor won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his first PGA Tour win since August 2005.^[3] He started the week as first alternate, only earning entry after Carl Pettersson withdrew, and had not been fully exempt since 2012. The win was also Taylor's first at a non-alternate event and moved him from 447th in the world to 100th.^[4]

Personal life

Taylor lives in the Augusta, Georgia area with his wife, Leot.

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 22, 2004	Reno–Tahoe Open	−10 (67-67-69-75=278)	Playoff	Stephen Allan, Hunter Mahan, Scott McCarron
2	Aug 21, 2005	Reno–Tahoe Open (2)	−21 (64-67-64-72=267)	3 strokes	Jonathan Kaye
3	Feb 14, 2016	AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	−17 (70-68-67-65=270)	1 stroke	Phil Mickelson

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2004	Reno–Tahoe Open	Stephen Allan, Hunter Mahan, Scott McCarron	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	2009	Turning Stone Resort Championship	Matt Kuchar	Lost to par on sixth extra hole
3	2010	Shell Houston Open	Anthony Kim	Lost to par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Jun 29, 2003	Knoxville Open	−20 (68-69-67-64=268)	Playoff	Joe Ogilvie

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2003	Knoxville Open	Joe Ogilvie	Won with birdie on first extra hole

NGA Hooters Tour wins (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 8, 1999	Hooters Classic (Echo Farms)	−16 (68-66-66-72=272)	2 strokes	Jason Buha, John Kimbell
2	Feb 18, 2001	NGA Meadow Brook Golf Classic	−21 (63-69-64-63=259)	6 strokes	Greg Gregory, Zoran Zorkic
3	Apr 8, 2001	Triad Classic	−22 (66-65-65-66=262)	1 stroke	Eric Epperson
4	Mar 16, 2003	Southern Hills Classic	−28 (67-68-62-63=260)	6 strokes	Joe Meade

Results in major championships

Tournament	1998	1999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Masters Tournament							CUT	T10	CUT
U.S. Open								CUT
The Open Championship							T66	CUT
PGA Championship						T28	CUT	CUT	CUT

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Masters Tournament							CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT						T33

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	1
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2
Totals	0	0	0	0	1	1	14	4

• Most consecutive cuts made – 1 (four times, current)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
The Players Championship	T32	T8	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT					CUT	CUT	CUT	T41	C	CUT

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Championship	T32
Match Play
Invitational		T18	T61	T27								T38
Champions

  Did not play

"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances

• Ryder Cup: 2006

See also

• 2003 Nationwide Tour graduates
• 2011 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates