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Webb Simpson has highly discerning eyes and hands when it comes to his equipment. He has a very specific feel he’s seeking from his irons, but it’s been difficult in recent years to find a set that checks all of the boxes with each club. In the last year alone, Simpson has used three different Titleist iron sets, including the T100, the 620 MB and the 680 Forged. According to Titleist Tour rep J.J. Van Wezenbeeck – who works closely with Titleist staffers on their equipment needs – Simpson has different things he likes (and dislikes) about each of the three models. Simpson, whose seven TOUR wins include THE PLAYERS and U.S. Open, has been playing the 680 Forged irons off-and-on since they first came out in 2003, and he’s most comfortable with the shaping and increased offset of the irons. The 620 MB irons, which came out in 2019, have a more compact shape with less offset, and although Simpson prefers the shape of the 680’s, he likes the size of the 620’s. The T100 irons, on the other hand, were released in 2021 and have a modern cavity-back construction, and while Simpson prefers blade style designs, he did like the sole shaping, grooves and performance out of the rough with the T100’s. He hasn’t been able to find the perfect iron, so instead of continuing to accept trade-offs, Titleist simply gave Simpson the custom prototype treatment. On Tuesday, Simpson revealed an all-new set of “682.WS” irons that combine everything he likes about his previous 680 Forged, 620 MB and T100 iron models. They’re built exactly to his preferences using special Titleist machines. Simpson told GolfWRX.com that he likely won’t play the irons just yet, however, since it’s his first week receiving them, and windy conditions are expected in Sea Island. “I wanted the blade look and setup, but I wanted the new grooves,” Simpson told GolfWRX. “They kind of have the T100 grooves. I had a lot of success out of the rough with the T100’s, but I still wanted the blade look and feel, and they kind of converge into one iron. It looks just like the (680 Forged irons). It was all JJ’s idea. He thought of it and he wanted to get going on this special project for me. It’s very exciting. They’ll be in play next tournament for sure. They’re beautiful, they’re awesome.” Only two players have received the same custom treatment previously: Justin Thomas with his 621.JT models, and Adam Scott with his former 681.AS irons. Now, Simpson has his initials on set of 682.WS irons. According to Van Wezenbeeck, the custom project started at this year’s U.S. Open, and after rounds of R&D prototyping and testing with Simpson, he finally received the final versions at The RSM Classic this week. The set of 682.WS irons even has Simpson’s preferred “5.5” iron, which splits the difference in loft between a 5 and 6 iron. At the 2022 Players Championship, Simpson told GolfWRX.com that he started using a 5.5 iron to fill in yardage gaps after adding he took out his 6-iron to add a fourth wedge. He strengthened his 7-iron, and bent his 5-iron to a 5.5-iron. Simpson likes what he likes, and now he finally has his perfect set.

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For most of Sunday it looked like Hudson Swafford was poised for a runaway victory at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Instead he had to make a nervy 8-foot par saver to notch his second career PGA TOUR victory after he battled back from a back-nine double bogey. "My caddie, Kyle, and I, we were talking. I thought the putt might go a little right, he said it might go a little left. He just said, “Man, just hit a solid putt. You’ve hit a lot of them, just hit one more solid putt,'" said Swafford of his par save on 18. "I hit a great one." RELATED: Final leaderboard | What's in Swafford's bag? Swafford, at one point, had a four-shot lead. He was 5-under through nine holes and looked to be cruising. But a six on the par-4 13th brought Swafford back to the field. He made another bogey on the par-4 15th. Swafford, who won The American Express in 2017 for his maiden TOUR victory, stuffed a 6-iron to kick-in distance on the par-3 17th - a shot he said was similar to what he did three years ago on the 17th hole in Palm Desert. "I was just envisioning my shot at 17 on PGA West when I stepped up on the 17th green," Swafford said. "(My caddie) said, ‘You know, this is just a three-quarter 6-iron, you’ve been hitting your 6-iron great all day, all week, just hit one more. It’s a 190, just do it,' and I hit a beauty, then solid putt and went right in." After he left his birdie putt short on the 72nd hole he seemed to take a little extra time over his par attempt. Swafford went all week without three-putting and he wasn't going to notch his first three-putt of the week on the 72nd hole. "I don’t even know which side of the hole it went in on, I just know it was going in," said Swafford. He finished at 18-under par, the third straight winner at Corales Puntacana to finish with that score. Tyler McCumber finished runner-up at 17-under while Mackenzie Hughes, who finished T2 at Corales Puntacana last season, finished third. Swafford's back-nine battle wasn't the only thing he had battled to get back to the PGA TOUR winner circle, as he had just two starts left on his Major Medical this week. He missed time in 2018-19 after he had surgery in July of 2019 to remove a bone in his right foot. He said he realized something was amiss when halfway through a tournament he'd feel miserable while walking. "And that's what I do for a living is walk," Swafford said. "Ended up finding out I had a broken bone in the bottom of my foot that it had to be removed. They took it out. The bone was dead. I felt like I had just gotten confidence back and then that setback was there. "It’s been a struggle." Still, Swafford credits his wife Katherine for his ability to return to the PGA TOUR winner's circle. He and Katherine are now parents for the first time (James Hudson Swafford Jr. was born in December 2018). "Being a father is the best thing in the world to me. Wouldn’t want it any other way. My wife and I, we are blessed," said Swafford. "(My wife and I) come down here to the Dominican and actually kind of take a vacation with a little golf involved. It’s been an excellent week. We can’t wait to see him next week." And when they see him, Swafford can tell his son he is a PGA TOUR winner once again.

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