What’s not to love?
That’s how Webb Simpson sees it when he circles the week of the RSM Classic on his calendar, for the plentiful calling cards lure him to the first tee most every year.
Start with the tournament host, Davis Love III, who was Simpson’s favorite player growing up and has always been generous with his time and advice over the years.
The Georgia coastline home to the Golden Isles always perks him up.
The Seaside Resort in Sea Island, Georgia, sparkles with top-flight facilities and he adores the two courses used for the tournament – Plantation and Seaside.
The wind usually has a tee time, which is just fine with Simpson.
The laid-back vibe and southern charm rich with some of the finest fare anywhere is more than satisfying. His large family will be joining him this week.
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And there is his track record. In eight starts, he has five top-15 finishes, including playoff losses to Ben Crane in 2011 and Tyler Duncan last year; has failed to break par in just three of 30 rounds here; and has a career scoring average in the tournament of 67.23.
“I just feel like while it is a work week, I just feel at ease on weeks like this a little bit more than normal,” Simpson said Wednesday ahead of his pro-am round. “Obviously had a couple close calls, but I have good feelings. Even though I lost in a playoff last year and lost a playoff to Ben Crane back in 2011, I have great memories here.”
Simpson is in fine form to deposit another noteworthy stay to his memory bank. At No. 6, he’s the highest-ranked player in the field and hasn’t finished outside the top 17 since the first week of August. He added his sixth and seventh PGA Tour titles to his resume this year with victories in the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the RBC Heritage. And he notched ties for eighth and 10th in the two most recent majors, the U.S. Open in September and the Masters last week.
“I feel like what I’ve done better the last couple months is drive it better,” Simpson said. “Haven’t really changed a whole lot, just working on hitting it a little further; slowly, not as quick as Bryson (DeChambeau) has done it. Seeing some good results. Anytime obviously you drive it in the fairway, you’re going to have better weeks. I’m excited that that part of my game has been solid. If I do that well this week, I think I’ll at least give myself a good opportunity.”
Simpson also has decompressed from last week’s Masters, where he tied for 10th with rounds of 67-73-71-68. Although patrons weren’t allowed at Augusta National, the tournament and the course took a toll. Just not as much.
“I felt pretty tired as normal on Monday, Tuesday, maybe not as much. I do think the fans do have something to do with it; not in a bad way, there’s just a little more going on when there’s tens of thousands of fans every day. You’ve got to kind of zero in and focus a little more on what you’re doing. We were missing that this year,” Simpson said. “But Augusta does bring stress on you I think more than any course we play with the undulation, the greens, the water around so many holes.
“And it’s the Masters, so there’s just a lot going into it mentally. I had a hard time sleeping Sunday night just because I was exhausted. And last week we woke up at 4 (a.m.) three out of five days, so less rest last week than normal.
“But this week I feel a little more relaxed just being on the coast.”
That was evident when he saw the 18th hole of the Seaside Course, which is where he lost the playoff last year against Duncan. Simpson wasn’t discouraged at all.
“Hats off to Tyler Duncan, he birdied 17, 18 in regulation, he birdied 18 on the second playoff hole, and so when you lose to a guy who does that, I actually left last year, I wasn’t that disappointed because of the way he won,” Simpson said. “Now, if I had bogeyed a couple holes coming in, I would have been very disappointed. But I felt like Sunday last year played tough (Simpson shot 67). So I’m definitely not living in the past in terms of the playoff loss, but more of just hey, I’ve had chances to win here, I’m going to use that as confidence to help me this week.”
All signs point to Simpson having a good week. He’s in a perfect spot, if seems, to end his 2020 campaign of a rewarding note.
“I think there’s a temptation to kind of live in next week where I don’t have to think about golf, but I’m really trying to push myself this week to be fully here, fully present and know that a break’s coming,” said Simpson, who will likely play next in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. “So I’m going to hopefully give it everything I have for one more week.”
