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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Webb Simpson is quick to point out that the half-degree stamped on the sole of his Titleist 680 Forged blades wasn’t done in jest. Simpson is deadly accurate with his irons — from 2015 to 2020, Simpson ranked inside the top 25 in Strokes Gained: Approach — but he isn’t that accurate.

Even still, the 5.5-iron is a guaranteed gear conversation starter when a fellow Tour colleague pokes around Simpson’s bag. We’ve seen Justin Thomas, along with a few other pros, add a half-degree to his Vokey lob wedge. But Simpson is the only one bagging an iron with the half-degree stamping.

So what gives? As Simpson told GOLF.com during the FedEx St. Jude Championship, it all started when the former U.S. Open winner and his caddie, Paul Tesori, started to notice a sizeable yardage gap at the bottom of the set — between the 47-degree pitching and 54-degree gap wedge — that was causing some headaches during competition.

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“I had a big yardage gap between the lob wedge, sand wedge and pitching wedge,” Simpson said. “[My caddie Paul Tesori] had the idea to write the yardages we wanted them to be on paper. Then Titleist could make the clubs conform to our yardages. So we just did that. To add a fourth wedge and tighten the gaps, I had to get rid of another club, and then the best thing we thought of doing was a strong 6-iron or a weak 5-iron, and we opted to go with the weak 5-iron.

To make room for a fourth wedge and close the gap, Simpson replaced his 54-degree with a 52- and 56-degree, moved the 7-iron one degree strong (35 to 34 degrees) and weakened the 5-iron two degrees (27 to 29 degrees). With 15 clubs in the bag, Simpson used the smaller yardage gap at the top of his iron set to remove the 6-iron.

“It’s definitely a bigger yardage gap at the top,” said Simpson, “but it’s worth the challenge because [the wedges] are awesome.”

As for the story behind the 5.5-iron, Simpson confirmed Titleist Tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck was the man who made the executive decision to stamp the half-degree on the sole.

“It was more not trusting Webb,” Van Wezenbeeck said with a laugh. “When I sent the first test set home with him, we were trying to mix lofts — and I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t put it in a corner and then forget which is which. I wanted to let him know which 5-iron was bent to the different loft, so we put the .5 on it to let him know which one that was.”

Simple as that. Instead of getting a fresh 5-iron with the 5.5 stamping, Simpson’s has embraced the different look. When you’re a Tour pro with a major victory and seven Tour wins, you can play irons with whatever you want stamped on the head.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.

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The post Simpson, Stricker final two assistant captains for U.S. Presidents Cup team appeared first on Golf.

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Captain Davis Love III has rounded out his staff for next month’s Presidents Cup.

Steve Stricker and Webb Simpson will be the final two assistant captains for the U.S. Squad at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The pair joins Fred Couples and Zach Johnson, who Love tapped back in April.

“I am thrilled to join Davis, Fred, Zach and Webb at Quail Hollow this September, and look forward to helping the U.S. Team as much as possible in an effort to retain the Cup,” Stricker said in a release. “With the current standings, many of the players on my team at Whistling Straits will be competing in Charlotte, and I know we’re all excited to watch these rising stars continue to perform on a global stage.”

The 55-year-old Stricker has plenty of captaincy experience himself, having led victorious U.S. teams in the 2017 Presidents Cup and last September’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. As a player, he’s played in 5 Presidents Cups and sports a 14-10-0 record.

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“Steve has been a great friend to so many players on the PGA Tour throughout the years, and I know that camaraderie he brings to both the golf course and the team room will be incredibly valuable in September,” Love said. “As we look at this youth movement on the U.S. Team, having Steve as a trusted ally in tense situations is something I know our players will lean on.”

Simpson is a member at Quail Hollow and will make his debut as an assistant captain. He played in three Presidents Cups, with his 5-3-2 record helping to lead to victory in 2011, 2013 and 2019.

“I’m excited to see the Presidents Cup contested on my home course in a great sports town like Charlotte, and I know the fans are going to show up with tremendous support for the U.S. Team,” Simpson said. “I’ve had the good fortune of playing for Davis in past international events and he will have this team prepared to play each day. It’s an honor to be named a captain’s assistant and I look forward to helping the guys with a bit of course knowledge and a fun, enjoyable team atmosphere.”

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The 2012 U.S. Open winner told Golf Channel on Tuesday his age, just 36 years old, will make it easier to relate to the team as he’s still playing against them.

“Webb is a fiery competitor and a player who has served as an incredible role model to so many of the young guys on Tour,” Love said. “To add someone with his experience to the team room, who is also a peer and one of the top players in the game, will be a great addition to the week at Quail Hollow. I know he’s excited to help lead the U.S. Team on his home course.”

The Presidents Cup will be played September 20-25.

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The post John Deere Classic odds to win: Webb Simpson the favorite in the Quad Cities appeared first on Golf.

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A busy summer of golf continues this week as the PGA Tour heads to TPC Deere Run for the John Deere Classic.

Many of the top players in the world are using this week to rest with the British Open on the horizon, but there are still a handful of accomplished players — and major champions — teeing it up in the Quad Cities. Read below for everything you need to know betting-wise for the John Deere Classic.

This week’s favorites

Entering this week as No. 58 in the OWGR (best in the field), it makes sense that Webb Simpson is the betting favorite. He missed the cut in the U.S. Open two weeks ago, but he redeemed himself last week at the Travelers Championship, shooting 10-under to finish T13. 

Adam Hadwin has the second-best odds this week at +1600. He was one of just nine players to finish under par in the U.S. Open at Brookline, earning an impressive T7 finish. Along with Denny McCarthy, who has the third-best odds this week, no one in the field played better at The Country Club.

There’s also plenty of value further down the board.

Sahith Theegala — last week’s heartbreak story — enters the week at +2500 as he looks to rebound from his 72nd-hole disaster in Connecticut, while Scott Stallings, fresh off a T8 finish at the Travelers Championship, enters the eek at +3300.

Long shot of the week

Looking for a value play this week? Look no further than veteran Steve Stricker, who has teed it up in the Quad Cities 18 times in his career. The 55-year-old is a three-time champ at the John Deere, and he’s fresh off a second-place showing at the U.S. Senior Open last week.

2022 John Deere Classic odds

Webb Simpson (+1200)

Adam Hadwin (+1600)

Denny McCarthy (+2500)

Sahith Theegala (+2500)

Brendon Todd (+2800)

Charles Howell III (+2800)

Scott Stallings (+3000)

Adam Long (+3300)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+3300)

Jason Day (+3300)

Maverick McNealy (+3300)

Nick Hardy (+3300)

Patrick Rodgers (+3300)

Adam Svensson (+4000)

Cam Davis (+4000)

Chez Reavie (+4000)

How to bet on the John Deere Classic

Looking to make a (legal!) wager yourself? We teamed with BetMGM, and the online sportsbook is offering a “Risk-Free Bet” up to $1000 promotion. Sign up for an account to get into the action today.

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For Webb Simpson, 2021 was a frustrating year on the PGA Tour.

“Battling flu, Covid, neck injury,” he recounted on Tuesday to reporters. “I feel like that crept into my golf game.”

After a banner 2020 in which he won twice, Simpson admitted the injury-plagued 2021 was a letdown. He sprinkled in five top-10s throughout the year but zero top-threes and slid from eighth in the world to his current spot in 29th. Now he’s making his 2022 debut at this week’s Sony Open. He wishes he’d played last week’s event at Kapalua, too — but that one’s reserved for winners.

“Three things I’ve missed out on the Tour Championship, Ryder Cup and Tournament of Champions, and those are my favorite events,” he said. “It was a letdown year, I guess, this past year. And I realize, you know, I have a lot of sympathy for guys who have gone through injury because I had never gone through it and it really messes with you for a while. It hinders your workouts and it hinders your practice.”

In May 2021, Simpson tweaked his neck hitting balls at the Wells Fargo and withdrew before the event began. He was still in some pain a few weeks later at the PGA, where he finished T30. Some weeks after that he showed up to the U.S. Open weakened from the flu. Golf’s biggest events were passing him by. And despite a run of solid golf after that — he finished top-20 in four of his next five starts — he was left on the outside looking in as his season finished at the BMW Championship, a week before the 30-player season finale.

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“I really felt it that night,” Simpson said. “I love Atlanta. I love East Lake. My wife used to live there. Thirty guys. It’s such a good week. That was hard.”

Even tougher, Simpson was out of chances to audition for a final captain’s pick on the competitive U.S. Ryder Cup team. He finished No. 13 in qualifying points but was passed up for No. 14, rising star Scottie Scheffler, news he received in a tough phone call from U.S. captain Steve Stricker.

“He was honest with me the whole time, which I appreciated,” Simpson said. “It’s hard to hear that you’re probably not the guy they are picking. But I told my wife that I really appreciated that he at least told me the truth; he didn’t offer some kind of make-me-feel-better soft-sell. It was, ‘This is what we’re thinking, it’s not definite yet but this is the direction we’re leaning,’ which made me feel actually better because I kind of adjusted my hope a little bit.”

Simpson complimented Scheffler, calling him an “unbelievable player,” and acknowledged that his big-hitter profile fit the mold of what Stricker was looking for.

“It didn’t make me mad. Just made me want to work harder,” he added. “I have a dream of being a captain one day of a team, and I know I’m going to have that same situation. Every captain has to deal with telling a couple, two or three guys that they are not on it, that they were close; and get the good phone call of telling the guys that they made it; they are the pick.”

There are levels to life on the PGA Tour, and Simpson had reached the upper echelon. When you’re there, life is good, and there are invitations to special events — to Augusta National, to Kapalua, to East Lake, to World Golf Championships and to national teams — that feel like they’ll just keep coming. Watching his former teammates at Whistling Straits, Simpson said he was reminded just how fleeting it all can be. And he did plenty of watching.

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“Before I qualified for the Masters, my wife knew that from Thursday to Sunday, like that’s all I was doing, sunup to sundown was watching the Masters, and I didn’t know how I would be with Ryder Cup,” Simpson said. “We got closer, it was Friday morning and it’s all I wanted to do. So I watched for two hours. I needed to practice, but I’d pause it, tell my kids, like, I had the remote and I would go practice for two hours, come back, watch it. I didn’t miss a shot.

“So the hard part was Sunday. I was so happy we won. And you know, I even got emotional watching it, seeing the guys get emotional. And what an interview Rory gave. Everybody, I felt like, was giving great interviews. But it was really hard for me not to be there. Because I’ve experienced the joy of winning the Presidents Cup three times, but 0-for-3 in Ryder Cups.”

“It wasn’t really jealousy, but just I want to be there so bad. Like, I want to experience it with them. They are my friends. So that was hard. But great motivation for me for this year.”

Simpson has reasons to be optimistic for the new year. He has a new swing thought, acquired this fall in a trip to see golf whisperer Butch Harmon. He finished T8 in the RSM Classic, his last PGA Tour start of the fall. And he’s beginning 2022 in pleasant territory: Simpson finished T4 at the Sony Open last year, solo 3rd in 2020 and T4 in 2018.

“I feel like my game is in a good spot, and I fully believe my best golf is ahead of me,” he said.

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After much deliberation over the past several months, Steve Stricker released his captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup during a press conference on Wednesday at Whistling Straits. His six picks of Daniel Berger, Harris English, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele round out the team that will represent the U.S. in Wisconsin later this month.

Those six will join Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka on Team USA, as the Americans look to win back the Ryder Cup after a 17.5-10.5 beatdown at the hands of the Europeans three years ago.

Stricker said he feels confident in his picks and believes he has a strong team heading to Whistling Straits, but there were several strong players left off the team with legit cases for being selected. Here are eight hopefuls who were left off the 2021 Ryder Cup team.

Patrick Reed

Patrick Reed has been a staple of Team USA since making his first appearance in 2014, but that experience was not enough to get a nod from Stricker. While Captain America brings plenty of spark in team events, he also brings plenty of controversy. His criticism of Jim Furyk after the 2018 Ryder Cup likely didn’t help his chances, and his recent form has not been the best either. Reed has not registered a top-10 finish since early June, and he had a scary bout with double pneumonia just two weeks ago. “It wasn’t an easy one,” Stricker said, “but I think it was just the uncertainty of his health, and really the lack of play that led to our decision down the stretch.”

Kevin Na

Kevin Na wasn’t on anyone’s Ryder Cup radar for most of the summer, but a recent hot streak thrust him into the conversation. Starting in early July, Na registered four top-eight finishes in six starts, and he carded the low 72-hole score at the Tour Championship, which gave his Ryder Cup candidacy a late lift. However, ranking 170th in driving distance likely didn’t help his cause. It was a case of too little, too late for the veteran.

Will Zalatoris

Stricker didn’t hesitate to fill out his team with rookies, but he didn’t go so far as to go with a trendy pick of Will Zalatoris. While the 25-year-old ball-striking machine was a consistent force on Tour this season — including a runner-up finish at Augusta — his woes on the greens likely doomed his chances. He ranked 122nd on Tour in SG: Putting last season, and in an event that is won and lost on the putting surface, that deficiency was just too much to overcome.

Webb Simpson

Webb Simpson, 13th in the Ryder Cup standings, didn’t make it to the Tour Championship but had six top 10s and 13 top 25s in 21 starts last season. With just three missed cuts on the season, few players are more consistent than the three-time Ryder Cupper. But in a year when Team USA went young, there just wasn’t a spot for Simpson on this team.

Sam Burns

Sam Burns had a breakout season in 2021, earning his first Tour victory and notching eight top 10s in 26 starts, but his Ryder Cup candidacy never got as much buzz as some of his fellow countrymen. Stroke-gained analytics favor Burns — eight in SG: Putting, 14th in SG: Total — but he also struggled in big-time events. He made just one cut in majors in 2021 (T76 at The Open), and he racked up many of his high finishes, including his win at the Valspar, in events with weaker fields. If he wants to represent Team USA, he’ll have to perform a bit better on the biggest stages.

Jason Kokrak

Jason Kokrak had one of the strongest seasons of his career in 2021 as he earned two wins and 12 top 25s in 27 starts, but recency bias did him no favors. According to Data Golf’s Ryder Cup rankings, he was 24th over the last three months prior to selections, and his lack of any team-golf experience was also a ding on his resume. His game is a perfect fit for Whistling Straits, but there were too many better options on the table for Stricker this year.

Billy Horschel

Billy Horschel boosted his Ryder Cup resume in the spring with a win at the WGC Match Play in Texas, but after the victory he didn’t quite do enough to merit a selection. His lack of prior Ryder Cup experience was also a glaring hole in the resume for the 34-year-old.

Kevin Kisner

Kevin Kisner has proven himself to be a tough out in match play competitions during his career, but his form in 2021 never gave him much of a chance at making this team. Outside of ranking 32nd in SG: Putting, Kisner did not have another strokes-gained category where he ranked inside the top 80. He did earn a win just a few weeks ago at the Wyndham Championship, but his ball-striking deficiencies over the last 18 months sunk his chances.

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The post What’s it like on the first tee of the Ryder Cup? Pros describe the circus appeared first on Golf.

Collin Morikawa, in just over a month, will stand on the 1st tee at Whistling Straits for his first-ever tee shot at the Ryder Cup. He won’t be alone. If he’s in a foursomes or a fourballs group, another American will be watching. As will his European opponent. And a couple thousand fans around the tee box. And a few million at home. 

There’s first-tee jitters. 

And then there’s this. 

“I’m sure some guys will tell me about it, and they’ll tell me how nervous they were,” Morikawa said last week. “To be honest, thinking back at the other team experience, the Walker Cup as an amateur, I specifically remember that tee shot because I hit the first tee shot for the U.S. team and I was really just hoping to make contact.

“Obviously this has been years later now, we’re four years in from that, I’ve done a lot more, I’ve played professional golf, but the Ryder Cup just brings something different.”

Morikawa is not alone here, too. 

If some guys were to tell him about it, they would indeed tell him that the Ryder Cup does just bring something different. Three veterans said as much over the past two weeks. As Morikawa guessed, each said how nervous they were. 

And as he was hoping to make contact at the Walker Cup, so was Dustin Johnson at his Ryder Cup debut.

What will it be like for Morikawa? Johnson, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas reminisce. 

‘I might not have hit the ball’  

DJ hit his first Ryder Cup tee shot on the par-4 1st at Celtic Manor in 2010. He and partner Phil Mickelson would lose the fourballs match 3 and 2 to Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer.  

“I was nervous, for sure,” Johnson said. “I think all week I had hit like 3-wood off the 1st tee, but it was early in the morning and I was definitely feeling it standing on the 1st tee. Playing with Phil, I think we were the first group out. Yeah, I was hitting the first tee shot.

“Yeah, there was no way I was hitting a 3-wood. I was hitting the driver, the biggest club in my bag, just because if it was anything else, I might not have hit the ball.”

Where did the drive go?

“I hit it all right,” Johnson said. “I hit it to the right, I do remember that. I don’t think I hit it very good, but I made contact with it. It was out to the right, then I hit a nice second shot, I think, with a 4-iron onto the green.”

How did it go from there?

“Yeah, definitely settled down a little bit after the first tee shot,” he said. “Especially over there, you get on the first hole, they’re singing songs and it’s a really neat experience, but — and it was my first Ryder Cup, so I was definitely feeling it.”

‘Then I’m playing with Bubba Watson … ‘

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Simpson hit his first Ryder Cup tee shot on the par-4 1st at Medinah in 2012. He and partner Bubba Watson would win their fourballs match 5 and 4 over Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson.

“Honestly, Tuesday practice round, I was like just as nervous,” Simpson said this week. “I couldn’t believe the environment, the atmosphere. We’re hitting balls on the range on Tuesday and Keegan Bradley and I are looking at each other like, this is crazy.

“Then I’m playing with Bubba Watson on Friday, first match, and he throws his hands in the air, which I didn’t know he was going to do that. He gets the crowd up on their feet, loud as they can, and that’s probably the No. 1 tee shot that I’ll remember the rest of my life most vividly.

“I mean, he looks over at me, I’m standing on the left side, which I normally don’t, but I’m standing with [caddies] Teddy [Scott] and Paulie [Tesori], and Bubba looks over at Teddy and kind of gives him the ‘Should I do it?’ and Teddy nods, and I don’t know what’s coming and then that happens and he hits it 350 yards. There’s no environment, as you know, like the Ryder Cup, so that was a pretty memorable moment.”

‘Hands down the most nervous I’ve ever been’

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JT hit his first Ryder Cup tee shot on the par-4 1st at Le Golf National in 2018. He and partner and longtime friend Jordan Spieth would win their fourballs match 1-up over Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton. 

“It was hands down the most nervous I’ve ever been,” Thomas said last week. “It doesn’t even compare to as nervous as I was during the PGA or as nervous as I’ve been winning golf tournaments. It is just a total out-of-body experience. The best way to explain it to people, which is how I’ve explained it, because I hit a 5-wood off the 1st tee, I’m pretty sure, maybe 4-iron, but 5-wood and I don’t put it on a tee when I do that, I just kind of put it on the deck. I kind of dig a little thing in the ground with my club, and I’ll set it up on that. I’ve always said if I had to put it on a tee, I don’t think I could have. I would have been too nervous to where I would not have been able to get a ball on the tee.

“That’s when I was very, very glad to have Jordan as my partner and someone to calm me down and make as many birdies as he did because that’s why you want to be there. The pressure, it’s a privilege, you want to be able to feel that, and if you didn’t feel that, I mean, then there would be no reason for me or any of us to be playing. That’s why I turned pro, that’s why I’ve gotten here is to be playing in a Ryder Cup and to have those experiences. If you’re never getting that moment, you never learn, but that was pretty nuts.”

Why is it so nerve-wracking?

“I think it’s a lot of things,” Thomas said. “I think the Ryder Cup is just as big as it gets. It’s the biggest crowds that we’ll probably play in front of. Yeah, there may be more people at the Masters, but there’s four matches on the course at the Ryder Cup, and I don’t know how many people go to a Ryder Cup a day, but you do the simple math — you divide it into four, you could have 20,000 people watching your match. Then in France you had, I don’t know how many it was, 8,000, 10,000, 6,000, however many it was in that huge grandstand, and it’s so quiet that you can hear a pin drop, but you know as soon as you make contact, the place is going to erupt. 

“It’s bizarre, but it’s the coolest feeling. It’s hard to explain. Yeah, out of body, like I said earlier, is the best way to explain it.”

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If there’s been a differentiating factor at Kiawah Island over the first two days at this week’s PGA Championship, it’s been laser-focus. Of the handful of golfers who managed to reach the weekend under par, each has shared an unwavering concentration to the Ocean Course’s contours, gusts and (many) obstacles.

Lasers, on the other hand, decidedly have not been a differentiating factor, and as far as just about everyone is concerned, that’s a good thing.

For the first time ever at this week’s PGA Championship, players have been allowed to use rangefinders throughout the course of competition, breaking with the decades-old tradition. The change came as unwelcome news to many in the golf world, who warned that distance-measuring devices would diminish the strategic value of a good caddie, and who questioned whether they would serve the intended (or any) purpose.

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Webb Simpson was one of the loudest pros to speak out against rangefinders.

“I feel like, this is a fact that it’s not going to speed up play, because everybody I know and have talked to, we still want front [of the green] numbers, and the rangefinder, you can’t always get the accurate front number,” Simpson said last week. “So you’ll probably have the player shoot the pin, the caddie walk off the number because I’m going to want, what’s front, what’s the pin? I haven’t read the reasoning behind it or their desire to test it out that week, but I don’t think it will really make a difference.”

But after his third round at Kiawah on Saturday, the 2012 U.S. Open champ admitted he’s among the converted, becoming a surprising proponent of the new rule.

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“I was definitely against it coming in but we have seen how there’s a lot of situations where it helps,” Simpson said. “I was in the right rough on 10 yesterday, so you know, it’s a funky angle to that back left pin and my rangefinder got about six yards different than what we had come up with.”

PGA of America president Jim Richerson explained the decision in February as meant to improve the tournament’s pace of play. While there’s some debate about the role rangefinders play in that process (pace has been glacial at times this week, leading to a rare slow-play penalty Thursday), Simpson found a noticeable improvement in that department.

“So you know, the carries over bunkers, if they move the tee up, instead of walking it off and calculating it in the yardage book, we’re just able to shoot it,” he said. “I think I was one of those old-school guys thinking we’re going to need both numbers still, it’s going to slow down play, but I actually do think it’s been a good thing. The more we did it each round, the more I like it.”

Simpson’s admission comes as a surprising one given not only his previous comments but also his close relationship with caddie Paul Tesori. Simpson and Tesori have found significant success together on the PGA Tour, and a full-time rule change allowing distance-measuring devices — at least in the eyes of those who oppose them — would have an adverse effect on caddies.

If that concern entered Simpson’s mind, he surely didn’t show it when he threw his support behind establishing the rule full-time on Tour.

“It’s a great question,” he said. “I could see it going either way. I could see the Tour thinking we do it all the time when we’re home, we do it in final rounds, pro-ams, might as well let us keep doing the same things, especially since no one has an advantage over the other.”

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So, you’ve hit a shank.

You’ve worked through your pre-swing checklist, gotten your thoughts in order and swung your swing — and the result was horrifying. A low-liner in the other direction. A screwup. A botch. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Webb Simpson knows how you feel. In fact, he’s had it worse than you. He’s blasted a shank on one of the biggest stages in golf — the Ryder Cup — and he’s then had to face a rousing from one of the greatest golfers ever for his efforts.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, Simpson told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz the story of his shank — and Tiger’s subsequent troll job — at the 2012 Ryder Cup.

“Another embarrassing [shank] was 8th hole at the Ryder Cup on Sunday at Medinah,” Simpson recalled. “Hit an 8-iron and shanked it over there.”

Of all the times to shank in competition, the Ryder Cup is one of the better ones. Match play is forgiving in that sense — lose the hole and move on with your afternoon. But of course, that supposes you won’t see Tiger Woods in the aftermath of your shank.

“My first thought was, Tiger is our anchor position, and I just hit it towards the fourth tee and he’s probably about there,” Simpson said. “I will never hear the end of this, if he sees me walking over to where he is.”

Or, for that matter, that Tiger won’t see you.

“We lose the Ryder Cup, and that night after the award ceremony, Tiger kind of motions for me to come here,” Simpson said. Simpson walked over to Woods, which is when the two golfers started talking about the wind. “In my mind, I’m like ‘why is he talking about this right now?'” Simpson remembers.

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Here’s how he remembers the interaction.

Tiger Woods: Hey, man, it was a tough day.

Webb Simpson: Yeah.

TW: Wind was all over the place, wasn’t it?

WS: Yeah it was.

TW: Where did you have have the wind on No. 2, the par-3?

WS: Out of the west.

TW: Where did you guys have it No. 8? We had it straight left-to-right. When I got there it was blowing 20 or 30 mph.

Knowing Simpson’s shank on No. 8, Woods flashed a knowing grin. He wasn’t talking about the wind. He was trolling Simpson.

“I heard about it,” Woods laughed. “I heard about it.”

Simpson, to his credit, was able to laugh off the interaction. That’s the sort of mindset required of a major champion, we suppose.

To hear the rest of his Subpar interview, including his unexpected money games with Phil Mickelson, and his memory of the famous U.S. Open ‘bird man’ incident, check out the full video below.

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The post GOLF’s Subpar: Webb Simpson talks the biggest bet he’s made on the golf course appeared first on Golf.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Webb Simpson talks the biggest bet he’s made on the golf course appeared first on Golf.

Subpar’s Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz are joined by seven-time PGA Tour winner Webb Simpson who talks how a round with Phil Mickelson led to the biggest bet he’s ever made on the golf course.

The post GOLF’s Subpar: Webb Simpson talks the biggest bet he’s made on the golf course appeared first on Golf.

The post Webb Simpson Interview: His infamous encounter with the ‘Bird Man’, remaining successful despite hitting shanks appeared first on Golf.

The post Webb Simpson Interview: His infamous encounter with the ‘Bird Man’, remaining successful despite hitting shanks appeared first on Golf.

On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, seven-time PGA Tour winner Webb Simpson joins former PGA Tour pro Colt Knost and jicky jack legend Drew Stoltz for an exclusive interview at Quail Hollow. The winner of the 2012 U.S. Open talks his infamous encounter with the ‘bird man’ at the Olympic Club, meeting his wife thanks to a big assist from his dad, and remaining a world class player despite his tendency to hit shanks.

The post Webb Simpson Interview: His infamous encounter with the ‘Bird Man’, remaining successful despite hitting shanks appeared first on Golf.