2020 Masters: Top 10 power rankings at Augusta National
Webb Simpson is finally beginning to crack the code at the Masters. His first six starts at Augusta National resulted in three missed cuts and a high finish of T-28th in 2015.
The North Carolinian improved to T-20th (76-73-70-67) in 2018 and was one of the best players on the weekend.
His scoring average his last six rounds here is 69 after going 72-71-64-70 last year. He was in the thick of things at T-5th and just two off the pace. The 64 was low round of the tournament and one away from tying the course record.
It sounds like early in his career he tried to force the issue at this event. He’s never been a long hitter, so perhaps he thought he had to play outside of his means.
“After Friday’s round (in 2018) I think I was 4‑over through two days, I made the cut, but pretty frustrated because I had never played well here,” Simpson was transcribed by ASAP Sports after the 2019 Masters. “And just decided that the weekend, no matter what, I was going to miss it on the correct side, the safe side, because most every hole out here affords you that opportunity to miss it on the safe side.”
Simpson is a major champion at the 2012 U.S. Open. That was just his fifth ever major start.
Now, he’s making his 37th major start. He’s made 28 cuts and 13 in a row dating back to 2017. Simpson, 35, has finished T-37th or better in that streak with three top-10s.
In 2020, he was T-37th at the PGA Championship and T-8th at the U.S. Open. His strong performance at a big ball park like Winged Foot bodes well for Augusta National.
Simpson is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year at the Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage. Recent results show eight straight top-40s and six straight top-20s.
He ranked sixth last season in strokes gained approach (.64) and 13th in SG putting (.589). It’s easy to think of Webb as one of those steady, plotting types, but he can go low. Simpson was first on Tour in birdie average (4.67) as well as scoring average (68.978).
It won’t be Simpson’s turn to win his first Masters, but go ahead and put him in your fantasy lineup as a safe choice.