Vaughn Taylor headed back to Masters after emotional victory at Pebble Beach

Vaughn Taylor gave himself one heck of a Valentine’s Day present.

The former Augusta State golf star, who grew up in Hephzibah and now lives in Evans, won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday after closing with a final round of 7-under-par 65.

The victory puts Taylor back in his hometown Masters Tournament for the first time since 2008 and gives him full status on the PGA Tour again.

“I’m playing in the Masters pretty soon, and that’s a dream come true,” the soft-spoken Taylor said in a televised interview after his win.

Taylor, 39, began Sunday six shots behind 54-hole leader Phil Mickelson. While the three-time Masters champion struggled, Taylor reeled off four consecutive birdies on the final nine to take the lead.

Then he had to wait it out with his wife, Leot, and son, Locklyn, to see if anyone could catch him. When Mickelson’s short birdie putt lipped out on the final hole, the Taylor family shared an emotional embrace.

“It’s been a long time,” said Taylor, referencing his last professional win in 2005. “I didn’t think it was going to happen. I’ve worked so hard, and I kept getting knocked down and knocked down. I’m at a loss for words right now.”

Taylor had previously won twice on the PGA Tour and was a member of the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team. But he struggled in recent years, and he used his status as a former PGA Tour winner to get into the field at Pebble Beach. He and amateur partner Gregg Ontiveros also won the pro-am portion of the tournament by one shot.

The past two weeks he played in Web.com Tour events in South America, and he had to withdraw from the Colombia Championship a week ago because of illness. He entered the week ranked 447th in the world golf rankings.

Now he has a paycheck for $1,260,000 and full PGA Tour status for the next two years, and a berth in the tournament he loves the most. He called the Masters his “Super Bowl.”

Taylor played in the Masters from 2006 to 2008. His best finish came in 2007, when he was paired with eventual champion Zach Johnson in the final round. Taylor tied for 10th in the blustery conditions.

“I didn’t know if I would ever get back, and I can’t believe I’m going to be there in a couple of months,” Taylor said. “It’s surreal. It hasn’t hit me yet. It’s just unbelievable.”