By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Putting, the old saying goes, is golf's great equalizer. In the Virginia State Golf Association Amateur Championship, that's what put William & Mary's Jimmy Taylor over the top.

His putter countering a so-so day off the tees, Taylor defeated former University of Richmond golfer Jordan Utley 7-and-6 in a 36-hole final at Country Club of Petersburg. Taylor took control by winning the first two holes of each round in the final pairing on July 2.

It capped an outstanding week for Taylor, who defeated three current or former players from the ACC — Evan Beck (Wake Forest) in the semifinals, Sam Jung (Virginia) in the quarterfinals, and Connor Johnson (Virginia Tech) in the round of 16.

"It's definitely the biggest golf accomplishment in my career so far," said Taylor, a finance major and rising junior. "I really didn't think about it too much until I won. And it still didn't sink in until the next day."

That's when Taylor realized he was the first player from William & Mary, as well as the first from Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria, to win the State Am. The championship came in his favorite format — match play, a one-on-one competition decided by the number of holes won instead of strokes.

"That's definitely my favorite type of golf," Taylor said. "In stroke play, you're playing against everyone, so it doesn't really matter if you beat the people next to you.

"But in match play, it's you versus the guy in front of you. I generally think that I can beat most people I play one-on-one."

Taylor took down Utley, a three-time finalist, with the putting round of his life. On the first hole of the morning round, he dropped a 30-foot putt from the fringe. On No. 2, he made a 15-footer to take a 2-up lead.

Then there was his putt on No. 7, which came just after Utley had cut Taylor's lead to 1-up.

"I was off the green again, and I kind of hit it a little too hard," said Taylor, whose caddy was W&M teammate Matthew Feinstein. "It hit the back of the cup and just popped up and went in. It was one of those things that if it's your day, it's your day.

"Generally, I'd say putting isn't the strongest part of my game. But I just found something. I just put it on the green and thought I could make it. That's good to have in match play, because if your putter is hot, there's really nothing the other person can do."

W&M coach Tim Pemberton '05, one of the greatest players in Tribe history, called it "probably the best putting performance" he's ever witnessed.

"Tee to green, he probably wasn't as sharp as he would have liked," he said. "But he made so many clutch putts in the last four matches.

"I've never seen anything like it. He almost looked like a robot."

With Taylor's dominance and the match-play system, it soon became a matter of when — not if — he would win. After taking the first two holes of the afternoon round, Taylor's lead grew to 6-up. Utley officially ran out of time on No. 12 (No. 30 overall) when both golfers made par.

"I was really confident, especially after the front nine," Taylor said. "I just had my eye on one thing and wanted to close it out quickly. Matthew kept telling me he didn't want to be out here for 18 (more) holes, so to get the job done early."

Taylor was the first alternate for the State Open of Virginia, which begins Friday in Midlothian, but there's no longer any doubt. His State Am win guarantees a spot. He also plans to play in the Metropolitan Amateur in Laytonsville, Md., which starts Aug. 5.
Taylor now has some momentum.

"That shows you the potential he has," Pemberton said. "If his ball striking is as good as he's capable of and he combines that with the hot putter he had last week, the sky's the limit."