Webb Simpson coasts to victory at THE PLAYERS Championship

Webb Simpson’s victory at THE PLAYERS Championship may have lacked in the drama department, but that doesn’t make his long-overdue return to the winner’s circle less sweet.

Webb Simpson may not have provided the type of edge-of-your-seat finish to THE PLAYERS Championship that will be replayed for years to come. However, after three-plus years without a victory on the PGA TOUR, that won’t take away any of the luster from one of the biggest weeks of his career.

To most casual fans, Sunday’s final round at TPC Sawgrass was little more than a coronation. Heading into the day with a seven-stroke lead, surely Simpson would be all smiles all day. Perhaps he would even attack Greg Norman’s tournament record of 24-under-par.

Always confident but never overly so, Simpson did work through some jitters early on Sunday. A three-putt par on the par-5 2nd and a bogey on the par-3 8th were uncharacteristic of his masterful week.

A poor approach to the par-4 10th led to a bogey, and while Simpson’s lead was still strong, it was down from seven shots to four. That’s when his caddie, Paul Tesori, stepped up and gave his player a much-needed reality check.

“Hey bud,” Tesori asked. “Are you really dialed in?”

When Simpson replied that he was, Tesori called him out. “I don’t think you are.”

From that point on, Simpson found enough of a groove to steady the ship to victory. Outside of an airmailed approach in the water on 18, when victory was all but certain, Simpson was calm once again. Birdies on each of the back-nine par-5s shut down any of his chasers’ hopes.

At long last, Webb Simpson was a winner again.

Webb Simpson has put the anchor ban in his past, for good

As of Sunday, the anchor ban has been in effect for 863 days. Nearly two and a half years have passed, but for players like Simpson, it has to feel like an eternity.

We’ve touched on this before, of course. Simpson, Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley all won majors using an anchored putting stroke. All three have struggled immensely to find that type of success since then.

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Simpson, however, has found a game that is working for him better now than it ever did before. In the 2015 season, immediately before the ban, Simpson ranked 174th on TOUR in strokes gained putting. That’s because he embraced the ban, as Luke Kerr-Dineen wrote for Golf Digest.

By taking control of his fate – ripping off the proverbial Band-Aid – Simpson has owned all of his results, instead of letting the ban define his career. He had the big picture in mind, and that’s what led him to this moment.

Webb Simpson has long been one of the most underrated players on the PGA TOUR. He doesn’t have the celebrity cachet of a Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy, but his game speaks for itself. He’s more than capable of winning the biggest events in the game – and this week shows that he’s not done yet.

Next: THE PLAYERS Championship deserves major status

2018 has the potential to be a career-defining year for Webb Simpson. With the U.S. Open around the corner, and the Ryder Cup on the horizon, this could just be the tip of the iceberg.

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