Augustan sets eyes on jacket
Taylor tries for longer stay at top today
Spike Kelley watched Vaughn Taylor limp home in the third round of the Masters Tournament.
Kelley watched on TV on Saturday as Taylor bogeyed the final three holes to shoot 5-over-par 77. After taking a brief lead with three holes to play, Taylor now is tied for fourth place, two shots behind leader Stuart Appleby.
Still, Kelley, the co-owner of Goshen Plantation Golf Club, where Taylor grew up and still has a membership, believes. "I think he's going to win. I have all the faith in him," Kelley said. "There's no one he can't beat. All he has to do is play 18 holes.
"If he wins, I won't be surprised. I'll be thrilled, but not surprised."
Taylor, who shot 77 in cold, windy conditions when the average score was 77, is trying to become the second player with Augusta ties to win the Masters. Larry Mize was the first, winning in a playoff two decades ago.
If Taylor is going to win his first green jacket, he'll need to get his putter rolling. In the third round, he had 33 putts, after making just 54 the first two rounds.
He missed an 8-foot par putt at No. 6 and later missed short par putts at Nos. 9 and 16.
"I didn't putt well today," Taylor said. "I only a made a couple of putts. I didn't stroke it as well as I have the past few days. I feel like it's right there."
Taylor's father, Jack, said: "He's all right. He's in good shape. This golf course beat up a lot of golfers today.
"I think he's better off a couple of shots out. He really played great golf. His putter let him down today, but maybe he'll get it going."
Taylor will have plenty of family and friends supporting him. Former Augusta State teammates Jeff Keck and Michael Webb followed him all day, while Jamie Felder worked as a gallery guard at No. 8. Keck, who followed Taylor alongside former Augusta State basketball player Shane Pangle, said there's about 40 people in Taylor's gallery who used to play golf with him.
That contingent followed him to the par-5 15th hole, where Taylor knocked his approach to 10 feet. He rolled in the birdie putt to take the lead, and his fans celebrated as he walked off the green.
"Growing up, all of our biggest dreams were to play in the Masters," Keck said before Taylor began his bogey run at No. 16. "Then you come out and your buddy is leading the Masters. How does that make you feel?"
"This is the biggest thing in golf," Pangle said. "And you've got a local guy who's just one of the guys in it. This is unbelievable."
Webb, who came from Greenville, S.C., visited Taylor at home Friday night. Webb said he seems as relaxed as ever, and he believes his friend can win his first major today.
"He's proven himself," Webb said. "He's played in the Ryder Cup. He's beaten these guys before. I think he's going to win it."
Taylor's final-round scoring average rose when he led after 54 holes at last month's Arnold Palmer Invitational. That average is just less than 74 (73.86), a score that might win the Masters.
"I think it's all been a learning experience that's prepared him for this," Keck said. "He knows how to win."
The 31-year-old Taylor has won twice on the PGA Tour - both times at the Reno-Tahoe Open, in 2004 and 2005. Taylor, who's earned almost $5.4 million in his career, has made more than $600,000 this season, and he's on course to hit the $1 million mark for the fourth year in a row.
In December, Taylor told Felder, his longtime friend, that he felt he finally belonged on the PGA Tour and was comfortable.
"That's when I think he plays his best, when his back is against the wall," Felder said. "It's been fun watching him play."
