Hometown: Boone, N.C.
Residence: Mocksville, N.C.
Home Course: Tanglewood Park Golf Club, Clemmons, N.C.
Interests: Golf
Occupation: Professional golfer; manager of par-3/driving range facility
About Kevin Taylor:
The Golf Channel says:
With his ponytail and earrings, Kevin Taylor doesn't look the part of the traditional professional golfer and, certainly, has taken a different road to get to "The Big Break: Mesquite."Taylor came to the attention of the Golf Channel when a Tarheel Tour tournament director pointed him out and "The Big Break: Mesquite" producers quickly discovered there's no one else like him. He started playing golf as a child with his father, a pharmacist, who played baseball at the University of North Carolina. Eventually, he and his father clashed and Taylor fell in with the wrong crowd in high school and was surrounded by alcohol and drugs. He ultimately ended up dropping out of high school and getting kicked out of the house.
One of the first big breaks in Taylor's life was meeting Brandi, his future wife and what he calls the, "brains of the operation at home." They met when she was a freshman at Appalachian State at a "kegger party." He straightened out his life, got married and has a daughter, whose picture he carries with him in his golf bag.
"Life experience makes me more aware that there are other things in life aside from golf," said Taylor, who later earned his high school equivalency.
Like his life, Taylor's golf career has been a trip full of peaks and valleys. The low came last year when he was down to his last $100 and was ready to give up the game. Luckily, he turned things around after deciding to play one last event on the Tarheel Tour. Paired with Tommy Gainey (champion of "The Big Break VII: Reunion"), in the final round, he went on a scoring tear to win the event.
"I have played a lot of golf with Kevin. We have gone neck-and-neck and he has gotten me a few times," said Gainey. "Once he shot 65 in the last round to beat me. Anytime you shoot 65 in the last round that tells you he has no fear and also has some game."
In typical Taylor fashion, he rolls with what both life and golf has thrown his way. He says that you can sum up his biography in one word – "Moron." This is more indicative of his sense of humor than his intelligence because he clearly is nobody's fool.
Biography courtesy of The Golf Channel; used with permission
