Sometimes it seems like the Vaughn Taylor story is a little too good to be true. No professional athlete can be so humble, so wholesome, so perfectly apple-pie all-American.
Taylor just keeps defying the mold. The middle-class mannerly boy from Hephzibah goes out and makes a million dollars, wins a PGA Tour event and gets himself invited to the winners-only Mercedes Championships this week in a paradise called Maui.
Naturally, he took his parents, footing their bill for two weeks in Hawaii - the first at the idyllic Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua.
"I want you and daddy to have a special trip," Taylor told his mother, Lynn - whose heart seems to beat through the telephone line as she excitedly repeats Vaughn's words. "You never had a honeymoon and gave up everything for me. I want you to have this."
Lynn and Jack Taylor will join their son and his girlfriend in Hawaii for the time of their lives. These are not country club people who ever felt entitled to this type of lifestyle.
"We never ever thought of Vaughn doing this," Lynn admits of Taylor's late-blooming golf boom.
In a way, this week marks a career honeymoon for Taylor. This is a Goshen Plantation junior whose only college scholarship option was Augusta State. Less than two years ago he was still working the mini tours and hoping for a break at age 28.
Now he's teeing off at Kapalua's Plantation Course with 30 of his new peers - including nine of the top 13 ranked players in the world such as Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. As one of 10 first-time winners in the field, Taylor will try not to gawk.
"I haven't really played a lot with guys that are going to be there," Taylor said of the marquee stars that fill most of the 31-man field. "If I get paired with any of the big names it will be a little different."
Taylor remains one of those rare golfers unspoiled by the incredible riches that surround him. He has no idea the scope of the pampering that awaits him and his hometown entourage when they arrive at the biggest bonus and perk-fest of the PGA Tour season. To him it's all still a dream coming true before his wide eyes.
The magnitude of his new station in golf might sink in as he steps to the first tee and stares across the golf course, the Pacific Ocean and the island of Molokai in the distance.
Is this really happening?
"There were many days I didn't ever think I was going to get off the Hooters Tour," said Taylor, who only a year ago was making his PGA Tour debut on a different Hawaiian island and losing to a teenage girl in the Sony Open.
In most ways, Taylor remains the same guy who toiled outside the PGA Tour spotlight for five years before catching lightning in a bottle and hitting it big. He still is more comfortable hanging out on the road with the caddies than the mostly married players.
"I'm quiet and not the most social guy in the world," he said.
That's what his parents love most about Taylor - that the Goshen and Hephzibah and Augusta still stand out above the courtesy cars and catered lunches.
"I love his humble ways," Lynn says of her son. "I hope it never changes him."
Life has invariably changed for Taylor. For the next two seasons, he is free of the usual worries of a young golfer trying to make his way on the toughest tour in the world. His victory last August in the Reno-Tahoe Open makes him exempt through 2006. He can concentrate less on making cuts and cashing checks and more about the bigger picture.
"Guys told me last year after I won, 'Don't get comfortable ... see how good you can be ... keep pushing,' " Taylor said.
So Taylor won't be just sight-seeing and soaking up the sun in Hawaii. Some first-time winners are content just to be there and collect the minimum $60,000 head start on the rest of the PGA Tour non-winners. Taylor knows a good showing can go a long way to reaching his dream.
Like qualifying for the Masters Tournament in his hometown. Cheated of the automatic entry his tour win once would have afforded, Taylor has until the conclusion of the Players Championship in March to either get into the top 10 on the 2005 money list or among the top 50 in the world rankings.
"My goal is to still get into the Masters," Taylor said. "I'll approach (the Mercedes) like any other opportunity to get off to a good start."
Taylor hopes the PGA Tour is a little easier the second time around. He's seen most of the courses, the clubhouses, the hotels and the caddie hangouts. He goes into a fresh season with less wonder and more calculation. Continued improvement can open bigger doors to majors and World Golf Championships and other exclusive events that enable golf's elite to protect their stature and keep building. Taylor played in 27 events last season worth an average purse of $4.46 million. Fellow Augustan Charles Howell, however, played in 30 events with an average purse of $5.38 million. In majors and guaranteed-check WGC events, Howell made an extra $409,000 - a supplemental pot Taylor hopes to dip into this year.
"I want to win at least twice this year, be top 30 on the money list," Taylor said. "I feel close. Toward the end (of 2004) I felt my game was as good as anybody's."
His stats bear out his confidence. Taylor ranked in the top 25 in six of 13 primary statistical categories - including 13th in the critical birdie percentage and eighth in par breakers. He ranked significantly better than Howell in all but three key stats - scoring average, sand saves and money.
His smooth game has convinced others that Taylor may be hitting his prime when he turns 30 this March. In the Golf World magazine's 2005 preview, Taylor was one of five rising players listed with Tour Championship potential, grouped with more heralded young guns Justin Rose and Paul Casey.
It's recognition for years of hard work that Taylor never anticipated but certainly welcomes.
"I exceeded my expectations last year," Taylor said. "If I keep busting my tail, hopefully I can do it again."
Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.
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