Canadian Nick Taylor settled for a second-place finish at the WM Phoenix Open, falling short in an entertaining battle against new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on Sunday.
The 34-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C. finished 17 under for the tournament, two strokes behind the 2022 Masters champion and the defending champ of the Phoenix event.
Scheffler, an American, overtook Rory McIlroy for the No. 1 ranking in the world with the win.
Taylor has two career wins on the PGA Tour, most recently in 2020 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Taylor held his own against two of the best in the world as Scheffler and world No. 3 Jon Rahm of Spain joined him in the final group. Taylor is ranked 223rd.
Two back along with Rahm entering the day, Taylor surged into a tie for the lead with Scheffler with his fifth birdie of the round on No. 10.
Scheffler regained sole possession of the lead with an eagle on the par-5 13th, with Taylor getting a birdie after a nice up-and-down.
The American then took a two-shot edge with an excellent par save from 15 feet on the par-3 16th after a bad tee shot. Taylor missed his eight-footer for par, resulting in his first bogey of the day.
Scheffler went three ahead with another birdie on No. 17.
Taylor got one back with a nine-footer for birdie on No. 18. He carded a 6-under 65 in the final round.
Rahm finished third at 14 under after a 68.
Taylor has had a solid year this season after struggling for much of last season, finishing 134th in the FedExCup standings.
Taylor came into Phoenix with five top-25 finishes in nine events this season, including two top-10s.
Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, entered the final round three strokes back, but ended up in a tie for 10th at 10 under.
It has been a strong season for Canadians on the PGA Tour with Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson each winning events in the fall.
