After strong opener, Taylor can't avoid the Augusta question

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Vaughn Taylor finished tied for 10th at the Masters in 2007.

HUMBLE, Texas -- He's trying hard not to think about it, but every where he turns this week someone just has to ask.

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What would it mean to play your way back into the Masters?

Vaughn Taylor smiles and nods his head. He knows what's coming next. Growing up in Augusta. Going to his first Masters with his dad at age 10. Favorite memories. Playing that final round with Zach Johnson in 2007.

He knows the drill.

Augusta is the place every player wants to be next week. Not spectating. Playing. Inside the ropes with a chance. Right now, 94 players are on the list. If someone not otherwise eligible wins this week's Shell Houston Open, it goes to 95.

And yes, Taylor would dearly love to be that final guy.

His last Masters was in 2008, and he missed the cut. Actually, he's missed more than that of late. It's been three years since he's felt like the guy who played on the 2006 Ryder Cup team. A bout with vertigo. Allergies. He was already having problems with his swing at the K Club, then it spread.

"I got into a funk with my swing,'' he said.

Today? Well, the swing is quite nice, thank you. Yes, he gave a couple back down the stretch. Pulled it at 18 and it ran into the water, but hey. A 4-under-par 68 isn't bad on this wind-blown Redstone course. Good enough to leave him one shot off the mid-day lead held by playing partner Kevin Stadler.

While we're at it, the pinched nerve that's bothered him since the Bob Hope is feeling pretty good. And he got his eyes aligned back in the right place over the ball last weekend at Doral. He ducked into Miami where his girlfriend Leot Chen -- he credits her positive outlook on helping him come back -- lives after missing the cut at Bay Hill. Easy drive. Easy practice.

Good opening round that gives him a chance at, well, you know.

"Trying not to think about it,'' he said. "But it's hard not to. So it's just one of those things. I've got to stay in the present. Try to take them one at a time. You know, do the best I can.''

After the first wave, he was in a group of those trying to get a headstart on that final spot. Of the leaders, only Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott and Padraig Harrington -- all shot 69s -- are in the Masters field.

"It's been a tough couple of years,'' Taylor said. "I feel like I've gotten better. I love to get back to where I was.''

That would be back in the winner's circle. He won the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open back-to-back in 2004 and 2005 and that put him in the Masters and the Presidents Cup/Ryder Cup swirl. A fringe short-lister. A quiet guy with a steady game.

He started a comeback last fall with a tie for eighth at the Buick Open, then came so close to winning again, losing a playoff to Matt Kuchar at Turning Stone Resort Championship.

"That was a huge step,'' he said. "I played well in Flint (Buick), but I didn't really feel confident. At Turning Stone, I was calm and confident for the first time in a long while.''

This year, Taylor tied for 10th at the Bob Hope Classic, then shot four 68s to finish seventh at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He missed the last two cuts because of his putting.

"I worked on just trying to get my eyes over the ball instead of inside the line,'' he said.

On Thursday, he threw out an opening 31 on the front -- he made a 20-footer on the second hole and a 50-footer on the third -- to turn 5-under. He added a birdie at the 11th to get to 6-under, then bogeyed 15 and 18 coming in. But he putted great -- on greens that were running 12 on the stimpmeter in steady winds gusting to 28.

"In the last five, six holes for us, it was blowing pretty good,'' Taylor said. "It always blows where in the afternoon, so it was good to play in the morning.''

Better yet to open with a 68.

Taylor allowed himself a few minutes after the round to think about Augusta. He grew up about 20 minutes from the course and his most vivid memories are maybe not what you expect.

The first one was the 1987 Masters when Larry Mize's chip-and-run on the 11th hole took down Greg Norman in a playoff. "It was pretty incredible,'' he said. "Me and my dad stayed home that day and watched on TV because you could see it better. We came out of the couch when the ball went in the hole.''

The other? Playing alongside Johnson that Sunday. "I was absolutely nervous the first time I played,'' he aid. "But playing with Zach and watching him win was great.''

What would be even greater? Well, we know. He knows.

And even if he does allow himself to think about it this week, trust us, he's not going to talk about it.

He'll just keep hitting one shot at a time and hope it gets him one step closer to getting back where he wants to be. Back to where he belongs.