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Webb Simpson honors his late father with THE PLAYERS win
am Simpson could only laugh when his son Webb called after winning the U . S . Open on Father ’ s Day . Webb Simpson expected to share different emotions during a call to his mother . “ He just told me he couldn ’ t believe I did it , and I laughez with him ,” Webb Simpson said shortly after winning THE PLAYERS on Mother ’ s Day . “ I think my mom , when I call her , she ’ s probably going to be in tears , speechless . It has been a difficult time for the Simpson family ever since their beloved patriarch , Sam Simpson , passed away Nov . 26 at the age of 74 . He was a devoted husband to Debbie Simpson for 38 years . He also was the one who introduced Webb Simpson to the game . Sam Simpson was a single-digit handicap who could offer his son the occasional swing
Webb Simpson
tip , but he was more concerned with Webb ’ s character . He taught his son about work ethic , perseverance and respect . “ Sam used golf as a way to teach Webb life lessons ,” said William Kane , Webb ’ s childhood friend . Even as Sam Simpson battled dementia during his final years , those lessons stayed with his son . They helped Webb Simpson fight through those difficult years after he was forced to give up his beloved belly putter . His frustrations on the greens led to tearful conversations with his wife , Dowd , and caddie , Paul Tesori . Quitting was never an option , though .
“ My dad always told me growing up to never give up , never be a quitter , so that was off the table ,” Webb Simpson said . “ I was never going to be done with golf . But it was certainly a struggle .”
Nearly six years have passed since Webb Simpson won the U . S . Open . THE PLAYERS was Webb ’ s first win in more than four years . In between those victories , he fell to 143rd in Strokes Gained : Putting and outside the top 75 in the world ranking . After making it to East Lake for four consecutive seasons , and finishing second in the 2011 FedExCup , Webb missed the TOUR Championship in both 2015 and 2016 . “ For us , it ’ s nothing short of miraculous ,” Tesori said . “ We didn ’ t know if we ’ d ever see it again .” Webb Simpson found his solution a year ago , on the eve of the 2017 PLAYERS Championship . That ’ s when Tim Clark , the 2010 PLAYERS champion , recommended Webb combine the claw grip with the long putter that runs up his left arm . Last year , Webb returned to the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2014 . Now he ranks eighth in the FedExCup after his fifth career victory .
He led THE PLAYERS field in Strokes Gained : Putting . He had two of the top 10 putting rounds of his career , tying the Stadium Course ’ s record of 63 with a magical performance on the greens in the second round . Simpson tied THE PLAYERS ’ 36- and 54-hole scoring records to build a seven-shot lead before the final round . He admitted that holding such a large lead was harder than he ’ d imagined . He wasn ’ t just thinking about holding the Waterford crystal trophy . I ’ ve thought many times in the gym or the practice area , ‘ If my dad was here , what would make him proud ?’
“ I thought about him all day ,” Webb Simpson said about his father . “ It ’ s been an emotional week for my mom and my sisters and my brother . We miss him like crazy .”
AARON WISE WINS AT & T BYRON NELSON
Eighteen holes later in the gloom of a very long day , the task was successfully completed – a bogeyfree 65 for a three-shot win over playing partner Marc Leishman at the AT & T Byron Nelson . At age 21 , Wise becomes the secondyoungest winner of the event , eclipsed only by Tiger Woods . As Wise finished a four-day total of 23 under in the tournament ’ s first year at Trinity Forest . Yes , the course , which relies on windy conditions to keep things honest , was defenseless for three of its four days . Still , Wise – the former NCAA individual champion from Oregon -- rarely flinched , making just four bogeys all week . And in the pressure-packed , Wise essentially delivered the knockout blows in the middle of his round with four straight birdies . The last one , at the par-4 10th from 18 feet , gave him a four-shot cushion and he never provided Leishman an opening after that . “ Through that stretch , I thought I talked to myself and kind of made myself trust my putting ,” Wise said . Added Leishman : “ He holed putts he needed to hole . I didn ’ t .” Ben Crenshaw , one-half of the course design duo ( with partner Bill Coore ) who created the linksstyle Trinity Forest on top of a landfill , was standing near the putting green when he was asked about the youngster who was tearing up the course . “ I ’ m so impressed by him ,” the two-time Masters champ said . “ I watched him win that NCAA – he beat the Longhorns I must say -- I tell you what , he is really good . He does everything well . He ’ s a very sound long driver , beautiful iron shots and a heckuva touch .” Then , Crenshaw mentioned Wise ’ s age : “ I can ’ t remember another 21 … well , that guy right out there .” A few yards in front of Crenshaw was the most famous Trinit Forest member , Jordan Spieth , who won his first TOUR event at age 19 . Wise isn ’ t that young – but he ’ s young enough to realize this could be the start of something special . “ It ’ s huge at a young age to be able to plan your schedule , to be able to get into all the big events , to get that experience .”
GolfPlus JUNE 2018 29