Webb Simpson playing from aheadWebb Simpson playing from ahead
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — To appreciate the challenge of playing with a seven-shot lead at TPC Sawgrass — as Webb Simpson will do in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on Sunday — you have to go back to Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2017. It was there that Justin Thomas took a seven-shot lead into Sunday. “All I could hear about from everyone and reading everything is no one has ever blown a seven-shot lead before,â€� Thomas said after shooting a final-round 65 to win by seven, setting a PGA TOUR record of 27-under 253 in the process. “A lot of things go through your head when you wake up at 6:30 and you don’t tee off until 12:40.â€� What will be going through Simpson’s head when he tees off at 2:45 p.m. with just 18 holes standing between him and his fifth TOUR win and first since the 2014 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open? The question garnered no shortage of speculation amongst fans, media and fellow players after Simpson signed for a third-round 68 to get to a gaudy 19-under. Danny Lee was in second alone, seven back after a 70. But really, this is Simpson’s tournament now. What will he do with it? “Obviously, you are nervous about it,â€� said Jason Day, who sits T4 after shooting a 71 on Saturday. “But the good thing about Webb is he’s played well, he doesn’t have to do too much out there, he has to keep it in front of him. Just keep it in front, don’t take unnecessary risk and just kind of shoot 72 or somewhere in between 70, 72. You don’t really need to go into the 60s.â€� That said, Day added, playing too defensively can backfire. “It can be dangerous,â€� he said. “A hundred percent. When you’re sitting there and you’re trying to be defensive you’re hitting yourself to 30, 40 feet and your putting has to take the brunt of that.â€� Golf history is littered with stories about players who couldn’t stand prosperity. Greg Norman blew a six-shot lead at the 1996 Masters, and Rory McIlroy squandered a four-shot lead at the 2011 Masters. Alex Cejka woke up with a five-stroke lead at THE PLAYERS in 2009, but shot 79 to finish T9. Then there was the granddaddy of them all: Martin Kaymer blew a 10-shot lead at the 2015 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Playing with a big lead isn’t easy. The day that Kaymer collapsed in Abu Dhabi in 2015, Jimmy Walker woke up with a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. Walker vowed not to let it happen to him, too, and shot a final-round 63 to win by nine. It was the largest margin of victory on TOUR since Brian Gay won the 2009 RBC Heritage by 10. “I got in front and just tried to keep going,â€� Walker (70, 9-under) said at TPC Sawgrass, where he was in a tie for fourth with Day, Charl Schwartzel (73), Jason Dufner (66) and Xander Schauffele (71). “I didn’t want to play defensive, didn’t want to just try to make pars, I wanted to keep goin’ and see how many I could win by.â€� Walker isn’t the only one who advocates turning a big lead into a game. If you’re winning by five, can you push the lead to seven? That’s exactly what Simpson did with his third-round 68. How did he do it? He woke up, spent a few hours at Starbucks, did laundry, and watched some of the highlights from the 65s shot by Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. “I think it was good for me to see that,â€� Simpson said, “that the wind was up a decent amount, but there were some low scores, so I think it helped me a little bit continue to think about making birdies and making that 15-under a little better.â€� Simpson said he didn’t look at leaderboards Saturday, and the results would suggest he won’t look on Sunday, either. He’ll also try to stay aggressive wherever he can. “I think you have to,â€� said Adam Scott (72, 7-under). “Otherwise three shots can go in a hole, a double to a birdie, and your nine [shot lead] is six. Then you bogey two more, and now you start thinking about it.â€� Or, more accurately, the mind starts racing and you can’t stop it. You lose feeling in your extremities, or hear a ringing in your ears, or can’t seem to produce any saliva. “It’s very, very difficult to right the ship,â€� Scott said. “Think of Rory at the Masters in ’11. Sure, he tripled the 10th, but I mean he’s still right there in the tournament, he just couldn’t put it all back together. It’s not easy to do. Your confidence just gets hit, and when your confidence is not high on these types of golf courses, you just manage to find the trouble so easily and it’s very hard to escape.â€� Scott believes Simpson will win, and so does Day. Still, the speed with which calamity can strike at TPC Sawgrass will be at the forefront of everyone’s mind when Simpson steps to the first tee Sunday. “I think if it wasn’t this golf course, it would be almost impossible not to look ahead,â€� said Simpson’s caddie, Paul Tesori. “I don’t care what our lead is standing on 17. Even if we have a 12-shot lead on 17, I will be breathing very heavily.â€�
