Vaughn Taylor at 2-over after bumpy stretch

Before Vaughn Taylor teed off in the opening round of the Masters Tournament, he walked over to the two women sitting in motorized carts next to the No. 1 tee box.

Playing in his first Masters since 2008, Taylor gave his mother, Lynn, and his grandmother, Gladys Murphy, a hug and kiss. He said it was especially gratifying to see his 87-year-old grandmother, a lifelong supporter, in attendance.

“She’s just the biggest, loving heart you’ve ever met,” he said. “It was good to see her, and my mom was next to her and I could see they were about to cry. I couldn’t imagine how they felt. It’s cool.”

Taylor opened the Masters with 2-over-par 74. After missing four cuts since winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, Taylor said he was pleased to get off to a decent start.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t played well coming in,” he said. “Being as nervous as I was early, it was tough.”

Taylor was even par through eight holes before he started leaving his approach shots above the hole. He three-putted from 23 feet at No. 9 for bogey. He missed a difficult 26-foot downhill birdie chance at No. 10, then three-putted from 17 feet at the par-4 11th.

If the downhill putts weren’t difficult enough, Taylor said his group got put on the clock walking to the 11th tee, something he called “ridiculous.” Despite firing his tee shot to eight feet at No. 12, Taylor pushed the birdie putt.

“I was just a little rattled,” he said. “It was just a combination of things.”

At 3-over, Taylor rallied with birdies at Nos. 13 and 16. Despite a closing bogey, he shot 1-under on his final six holes.

“I got a little impatient early on the back nine,” Taylor said. “I just calmed myself down and told myself I had a lot of holes left.”

The 40-year-old said that after his round he planned to grab a late lunch and work a little on the practice range before returning to his Columbia County home.

“I’m just going to go home and relax and pretend like I’m at home like any other time,” he said. “I’m just going to go home and enjoy being there.”

Taylor said when he tees off at 11:49 a.m. Friday, he’s not going out to shoot a particular number. He said he’s planning to stick with his routine and go from there.

“I’m just going to let things fall where they may,” he said.