Brandt Snedeker at home on the water

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Sam 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 Sunday’s call to his mother. “He just told me he couldn’t believe I did it, and I laughed with him,â€� Webb Simpson said shortly after winning THE PLAYERS on Mother’s Day. “I think my mom, when I call her tonight, she’s probably going to be in tears, speechless. “We’ll talk a lot about my dad, I’m sure.â€� 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 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,â€� 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,â€� Webb Simpson said. “I was never going to be done with golf. But it was certainly a struggle.â€� 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,â€� Tesori said. “We didn’t know if we’d ever see it again.â€� 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 on Thursday and Friday, 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 Sunday evening 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,â€� 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.â€� Sam Simpson was a gregarious man who was passionate about life, and about golf. He had a way of making everyone around him feel comfortable. He tried to live righteously while treating people with warmth and kindness. “Your life was fuller for having him in it,â€� said Ted Kiegiel, the director of golf at Carolina Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina. “His dad was his role model, he got him started in the game. He was his best friend for a long time,â€� Tesori said. “His dad was a strong man. Not just strong-willed. He was a muscular, strong, passionate man. To see that being taken away over time, I think that was harder on him than I even know.â€� Webb Simpson’s PLAYERS victory has parallels to Jack Nicklaus’ victory in the 1970 Open Championship. Nicklaus won at St. Andrews months after his father, Charlie, passed away. Jack hadn’t won a major in three years, but he was inspired after losing the man he called “my guide, my companion, my mentor, my supporter, my defender, but always most of all my closest and surest friend.â€� Sam Simpson played all those roles for Webb, who has been motivated this year to honor his father. “I loved when he was proud of me,â€� Webb said. “I’ve thought many times in the gym or the practice area, ‘If my dad was here, what would make him proud?’â€� The golf course has become a refuge during his grieving, allowing him to relive all the memories they accrued on the course. Golf was a shared passion, and an opportunity to spend hours together. They would travel from their home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Pinehurst and Wilmington for golf trips. “He was Webb’s best friend,â€� Dowd said. “His dad had this uncanny way to push Webb, but not too much. He gave him a love for the game that was natural and birthed from within. His dad always encouraged him. “Any time Webb would go through anything challenging, he would always call his dad. They could just putt around and play and it brought back the joy in the game.â€� Sam’s death was unexpected. They thought they had a few more years with him, but that changed in November. Webb was in 12th place halfway through The RSM Classic, but he withdrew after learning that his father’s health had deteriorated. Webb got to spend 10 days at Sam’s side before he died. People streamed in and out of Sam’s hospice room to tell how he had changed their lives. The memorial service overflowed into the gymnasium at White Memorial Presbyterian Church. “My dad was already my hero, and he became that much bigger in my mind,â€� Webb said. “He just had a sweet way about him with people. Everybody seemed to love him. … He meant a lot to a lot of people.â€� Tesori used two words to describe Sam Simpson: ‘humble’ and ‘trustworthy’. Sam didn’t take any credit for his son’s success, giving the credit to God instead. He made his living in realty, with a company that he co-founded on a handshake agreement with his best friend, Harrison “Speckâ€� Underwood. They were in an elevator at the lawyer’s office when they decided there was no need for a formal contract. They cut it in half and threw it in the trash can. “Money was never spoken of. It was more about our obligations to our family and our children,â€� Underwood said. “So we walked into the office and asked the attorney if he had any scissors.â€� The partnership lasted more than 40 years. Sam Simpson was a member at the Country Club of North Carolina in Raleigh. He took his son for his first lesson with the Kiegiel when Webb was 8 years old. Three years later, Webb would join his father in his weekend games. Sam Simpson didn’t let his son move back to longer tees until he was consistently shooting low scores from his current set. It was a practice that taught Webb Simpson to go low. When Kane and Webb played late-afternoon rounds in the summer, Sam Simpson almost always rolled up to the 16th fairway in a golf cart, Diet Coke in hand. Sam was his son’s biggest fan. He caddied for Webb in amateur events and always was there to offer encouragement. Webb missed six consecutive cuts in his second TOUR season, in 2010, but turned around his season after spending a weekend playing with his father. “He constantly reminded his son that, in golf, anything can happen,â€� said Webb’s friend, Doug Rose. “Finish strong, keep fighting, don’t ever give up.â€� Webb Simpson didn’t. And now he’s THE PLAYERS champion.

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Since Day One on this job, I’ve professed that gamers are always learning. We make mistakes and we get unlucky as we attempt to hit moving targets, but we should always move forward with something of value regardless of the result. Last week’s lesson was not to invest in a typical option due to the team format. Lo and behold, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Daniel Berger, Henrik Stenson, Jason Day, Billy Horschel, Kevin Chappell, Gary Woodland, Daniel Berger, Russell Knox, Tony Finau, Thomas Pieters and Tyrrell Hatton were among the notables who missed the cut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The first four of that smattering ranked among the top nine in ownership percentage in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO, but that’s another story that played out in my investment recap on the Thursday of the tournament. The majority of gamers clearly didn’t understand that teammates shared FedExCup points. While 3.4 percent collected Brooks Koepka’s 58.917 points, gamers would have accomplished the same objective by burning his brother Chase, something only nine gamers were savvy enough to do to retain the possibility of Brooks for another week. Meanwhile, only four gamers rostered champion Cameron Smith. Teammate Jonas Blixt was selected only once. Surely, they represented an unlikely pair to prevail, but only in name, not in terms of the potential outcome in a that format. My advice, which will carry over into the 2018 edition, was to burn a guy you won’t miss who is attached to a superstar. The stars aligned for 3.9 percent of us (including this fantasy columnist) who plugged in Justin Thomas’ partner, Bud Cauley. But again, as my recap of investments last Thursday revealed, the two actually tied for seventh place in ownership percentage. Why, oh why. If there’s any solace, FedExCup points distribution was softened due to the splits. For example, the trio of teams that placed T11 banked only 38.250 per golfer, which equates to a finish just inside a top 25. Good, but not great. Moving on, we’re facing a different challenge at the Wells Fargo Championship. Eagle Point Golf Club is an unknown, so it presents as close to a even playing field as we see. This adds another layer of enjoyment to our experience, but the random element ratchets up the anxiety. Note that the WFC is omitted in Future Possibilities. Webb Simpson and Carl Pettersson are members, but only Simpson warrants consideration. Bill Haas is also familiar with the turf, but we’re always hesitant to pull the trigger no matter how good he looks due to inconsistency. Because simple is better in situations like this, stick with a proven talent who transcends concern. If you’ve yet to burn Jon Rahm, now’s the time. If you drafted a list of golfers who have excelled on sites new to them in the recent past, he’d sit at the top. If Rahm is gone and you’ve struggled finding a spot for Francesco Molinari, he’s another easy call as one of the preeminent ball-strikers on the planet. Unfortunately, I’ve exhausted Haas, both Europeans and even Adam Scott (for whom it’s worth waiting, anyway), so the hunt continues. I’m saving Dustin Johnson for the TOUR Championship and the quadrupled points in the Playoffs. Kevin Kisner is in my crosshairs for THE PLAYERS. And I have Phil Mickelson earmarked for the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Continuing to focus only on the top half of my Power Rankings, that leaves me with Simpson and Paul Casey. If I was competing in a two-man format, that would be my tandem, but I’d lead with the Englishman because, well, it’s simple. Of the two, he’s the one not having to deal with the attention and potential distractions of a home game. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2016-17. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … St. Jude (defending) Jason Bohn … Greenbrier Paul Casey … Travelers; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Harris English … DEAN & DELUCA Jim Furyk … Memorial; U.S. Open; Canadian; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Bill Haas … Wyndham Dustin Johnson … Masters; Byron Nelson; Memorial; St. Jude; U.S. Open (defending); Canadian; TOUR Championship Zach Johnson … PLAYERS; DEAN & DELUCA; John Deere; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; TOUR Championship Chris Kirk … DEAN & DELUCA Kevin Kisner … PLAYERS; DEAN & DELUCA; Wyndham Martin Laird … Barracuda Graeme McDowell … Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; Wyndham William McGirt … Memorial (defending); Wyndham Phil Mickelson … St. Jude; Open Championship; PGA Championship Francesco Molinari … PLAYERS Kevin Na … Memorial; John Deere; Wyndham Patrick Reed … Wyndham; Dell Technologies Adam Scott … Memorial; U.S. Open; Open Championship; WGC-Bridgestone; Dell Technologies; TOUR Championship Webb Simpson … Greenbrier; Wyndham Kevin Streelman … Memorial CHAMPIONS ONE & DONE POSSIBILITIES Insperity Invitational The Tournament Course at Woodlands Country Club in Texas has hosted this tournament since 2008. After four years contested in October, it’s been a staple on the schedule in early May. It also hosted the Shell Houston Open from 1985-2002. Golfers listed alphabetically. Rob’s serious considerations in bold. Michael Allen … First-round 63 in 2011 equaled the course record, which still stands today. Two T4s and no worse than T16 in last five trips. Still pursuing first top 10 of 2017. Stephen Ames … Captured the Mitsubishi Electric for his third top 10 in five starts this season. He’s also gone a respective T9-T12 in the last two editions of the Insperity. Billy Andrade … Pesky slate with seven top 25s in as many starts this season, but only one went for a top 10. Best finish in three tries at The Woodlands was a T5 last year. Woody Austin … T9 here in 2015. Solid not spectacular 2017 features five top 25s. Olin Browne … Five top 15s in seven appearances, but outside the top 40 in his last four starts in individual competition in 2017. Fred Couples … Winner here in 2010 and runner-up in his last trip in 2014. Also shares the course record (63). Currently second in Schwab Cup money with no worse than a T6 in five starts. Joe Durant …  T4 (2015) and 11th (2016) in his two appearances. Four top-11 finishes in individual competition this year. David Frost … Steady as he goes. Co-runner-up here last year and currently 19th in Schwab Cup money thanks in large part to a T3 at the Mitsubishi Electric in mid-April. Fred Funk … The 2012 champ has only one top 10 here since (T9, 2014), but he’s 11th in Schwab Cup money in 2017. T3 at the Mitsubishi Electric three weeks ago. Mike Goodes … Horse for a course. Has a P2 (2013), a T2 (2016) and a solo third (2012) among nine visits. Still chasing his first top 20 of 2017, however. Jay Haas … Second in all-time earnings here with five top-six finishes. One top 10 in individual competition this season (10th, Mississippi Gulf Resort). Miguel Angel Jiménez … Tournament debut. Third in Schwab Cup money with a win and a second. Tops on tour in total driving and third in scoring average. Under par in every round. Bernhard Langer … Two-time champ at Woodlands CC and the tournament’s all-time money leader. Atop the Schwab Cup money right now. So, it’s business as usual. Tom Lehman … Two-time runner-up, a pair of T4s and no worse than T12 in six trips. Winner in Tucson in March. Jeff Maggert … Knows Woodlands CC better than anyone. Respectively T9-8th-T2 since his debut here in 2014. Four top 20s in individual competition in 2017. Scott McCarron … T12 in his first look last year. Fourth in Schwab Cup money upon arrival this time. A little inconsistent since winning the Allianz Championship in February. Colin Montgomerie … Just his fourth start of the year. Top 20s in the first three. Solo third here in 2014. Answered with T14 in 2015. Jesper Parnevik … Defending champ. Four-stroke title is his only win on the circuit. Scuffling in 2017. Kenny Perry … Lost in a playoff here in 2015. Surprisingly, it’s his only top-15 finish in six tries. Sits 14th in Schwab Cup money with four top 20s in individual competition. Gene Sauers … Lost in a playoff in Mississippi a month ago. It’s one of three top 10s on his season, but he landed outside the top 25 in his other three. P2 here in 2013; T23-T24-T12 since. Kevin Sutherland … Never a risky pick. Four T6s and a T7 in five individual starts this year. Top 20s in every starts over the last 12 months-plus. Esteban Toledo … Recorded his first PGA TOUR Champions here in 2013. Solo fourth in his title defense. Up-and-down 2017 features four top 25s and a pair of finishes outside the top 50. Kirk Triplett … A trio of top 10s offset a trio of results outside the top 20 this season. Top 20s in the last two editions of the Insperity, however, including a T7 last year. Duffy Waldorf … Top 10s in the last two editions. Solid 2017 slots him ninth in Schwab Cup money. Simply a strong option to connect the dots of the season in this format. Ian Woosnam … The Woodlands is the site of his only PGA TOUR Champion victory (2015) in 68 starts. No top 30s in individual competition this season.

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