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By Tommy Braswell
PGATOUR.com Correspondent

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - No one was pulling harder last week for Zach Johnson to win the Masters than his final-round playing partner Vaughn Taylor. And not just because the two are good friends dating back to their days on the mini-tours.

Vaughn Taylor has two top-10s in his last three starts. (WireImage)

"Ever since we met on the Hooters Tour, he's kind of outdone me a little bit. But every time he's won, I've won a short time afterward," Taylor said Friday at the Verizon Heritage after a 5-under-par 66 moved him up the leaderboard in chase of Ernie Els, who has posted back-to-back 65s at Harbour Town Golf Links.

"It's always good to see a buddy you know well, who you can play with, win a tournament like that. It gives you confidence you can do it yourself. Hopefully, I can follow in his footsteps."

Taylor said playing in the final round with Johnson was a lot of fun.

"Coming in to the tournament, I wanted to win as bad as anybody," he said. "It was really fun to watch Zach play the back nine. He never buckled under pressure. I was really proud of him the last couple of holes when it looked like he was going to win. I felt great for him. It couldn't happen to a better guy. He was the guy I was rooting for, for sure, if it wasn't myself. Zach's worked hard and is just a good person, a good guy. He deserves it."

Taylor said he had a brief congratulatory conversation Monday afternoon with Johnson, but Taylor has been busy since the Masters focusing on the Heritage, where he finished third a year ago.

"Last week was exhausting," Taylor said. "I think I got 10 hours sleep three nights in a row (Sunday through Tuesday) and that caught me up. I feel good this week."

Taylor said he spent Monday on the couch at his Augusta home, practiced Tuesday morning at home and then drove to Hilton Head.

"The main thing is I was just laying low, trying to get some rest," he said. "You don't want to come here this week and not be into (the tournament). It would just be a waste of time.

"The toughest part is to come out the week after the Masters and not be too lazy. Staying focused is the biggest key. There were a few times yesterday (when he shot 71) that I was just walking around, not really grinding as hard as I should have. Today I felt good out there. I felt really into it. That's the biggest part of it. You have to put last week behind you and be into the week here."

Taylor, 31, made it to the PGA TOUR in 2004, graduating from the Nationwide Tour. He won the Reno-Tahoe Open in both 2005 and 2006 and qualified for the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Don't be surprised if the next win comes at Harbour Town. A year ago when he finished third Taylor opened the Heritage with a 63 and closed with a 66.

"Last year I missed the cut at Augusta and got here a few days earlier," Taylor recalled. "This year I came in late. But I think after today I feel comfortable with the golf course and greens. I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Taylor got off to a birdie-eagle start at Harbour Town Friday. He bogeyed the third hole, but came back with three more birdies for a front-nine 31. On the back nine, Taylor bogeyed the 11th and birdied the par-4 16th, got up and down for par from the bunker on No. 17 and just missed a birdie chance on No. 18.

"It was nice to get off to that kind of start. I can't remember the last time I did that," Taylor said. "You have to drive it in play here," he said. "You don't have to be a bomber to play well. You have a lot of short irons on the front side, and I always feel my wedge game and short irons are pretty good. That's been it.

"This course really suits me well."