It was the kind of pressure Vaughn Taylor never felt before. Not when he was winning two times on the PGA Tour, and not when he was playing in the 2006 Ryder Cup in Ireland.

Vaughn Taylor birdied the 15th hole to briefly take the lead in the third round of last year's Masters, but he bogeyed the last three holes to shoot 77. (Jackie Ricciardi/Staff)

This was the pressure of entering the final round of his hometown tournament -- the Masters Tournament -- just two shots off the lead.

On the first two holes, Taylor kept his poise from tee to green. On No. 1, he had a 5-footer for par; on No. 2, it was a 4-footer for eagle. Those are normally gimmes for Taylor, one of the tour's top putters.

He missed both.

"Those first two putts, I was nervous," Taylor said. "Those putts were all nerves. I tried my best to handle them, but I couldn't. My hands were physically shaking. As quick as the greens are, you can't be shaking.

"I slowly calmed down. But I never could get the comfort level I wanted to. If I could have done that, I think things could have been different."

Taylor's playing partner could sense the pressure he was feeling. That partner was eventual winner Zach Johnson, who played with Taylor on the Hooters and Nationwide tours.

"Vaughn played well, a couple of putts here and there (that he didn't make)," Johnson said. "He had more pressure on him being from Augusta, I think, which is unfortunate."

Taylor, who moved from Augusta to nearby Evans just before the 2007 Masters, learned a lot during that final-round pairing with Johnson. While Taylor shot 3-over-par 75 to tie for 10th place, Johnson had 69 and won by two shots, holding off four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, who was two groups behind him, and two others.

"I watched Zach win, and it really gives me a lot of confidence more than anything," Taylor said. "I was right there with him. It could have been me that day that shot 69. It didn't work out, but it was good to see somebody get it done knowing that Tiger was behind us and it's Augusta. The whole deal. I take a lot from him."

The main thing he picked up was how Johnson handled the situation.

"Zach loves being nervous. He embraces it really well, and that's what you have to do. Everybody's nervous, and everybody feels those feelings, but you have to embrace them. I remember Payne Stewart saying that at the (1999) U.S. Open, and he made that putt on the last hole. He used his nerves in his favor, and that's what you have to do. You've got to channel that energy. If you do, you can play at your best.

"I should be able to handle it better," Taylor said. "It's part of learning. And part of learning how your body feels in that situation. Hopefully, the next time you're there, you're more relaxed."

That time could come this year.

"Well, I don't want to jinx him," Johnson said. "I think you'll see that again shortly from Vaughn. He's too good. With his game and the way he putts typically, there's no telling what he can do."

"I don't want to put too many big expectations on myself," Taylor said. "At the time you know inside you played well last year and you want to do better. You kind of expect to. I don't want to say my goal is to win and that's it. I just want to take everything and soak it in and play the best I can play."

Taylor said he can remember every one of the 295 shots he hit last year in his second Masters appearance.

"I can probably remember every shot in the Ryder Cup, too," Taylor said. "The special ones you remember."

He remembers his birdie putt on the 15th hole in the third round at Augusta National. It gave him the outright lead.

"It was a great feeling," Taylor said. "It was an awesome feeling. I never actually thought I'd be leading. I've always dreamed of playing. Inside, I was really in the moment. I was kind of shocked that I was actually in the lead. It was short-lived, and I wish I hadn't looked up at the board."

Taylor bogeyed the final three holes for 77.

"I got a little nervous on the next tee; I got a little tight," Taylor said. "It was kind of a weird day out there. It was cold, and there was nobody out there. When I made that putt on No. 15, basically all my friends cheered. I said, 'Wow, there's nobody out here but my friends and family.' "

Taylor calls the 2007 Masters his most memorable experience in golf.

"I loved winning Reno a couple of times, but you know the Masters is a different deal," he said.

He wasn't disappointed with his finish.

"I missed the cut the year before and kind of took the positives from it. I just looked at it as, I finished 10th in the Masters. If you can't take anything good from that ... it was a good week all in all. It's good to be in the situations I was in. I felt I was right there every day. It wasn't like I backed into the top 10. It's good to draw on the experience from Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday."

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.