RBC Heritage
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Webb Simpson
Quick Quotes
Q. Webb, this isn't the first time you've won on Father's Day, but you look like a much different player now than you did then in 2012. You said back then that you felt like you were kind of praying coming in. You looked like a man on a mission today. What was your confidence level, your mindset during this last stretch?
WEBB SIMPSON: I think it's a good thing that guys were making birdies because they kind of forced me to be a little more aggressive and know that pars weren't going to cut it. I was only 2 under through 11 holes today for the round and had to make birdies.
It's typically not a golf course where you can force it, but today after the storm, it softened things out, not much wind, we could go attacking. Guys kept making birdies. I was blown away with the scores, but there I hit my run, 12 through 17, and ultimately that's what made the difference.
Q. You had a heck of a putting day on Friday, and that was something that you focused on. Ball striking has been phenomenal all week long. Yesterday a bit of a struggle on the back nine. You didn't see putts drop when you had opportunities. You and Paul were out here working late last night. You were the last guys on the putting green. You said the reads were off. What was the difference today, especially on that back nine?
WEBB SIMPSON: Well, I didn't really make a whole lot on the front, but I felt like I was starting them online, and my reads were actually pretty good. We had one misread on 6, but I left it short on 7 and 9. I just kind of told myself, hey, if you're going to make putts, you have to hit it harder.
The putt on 12 is a downhill putt, but 13 was slightly uphill, and I gave that some pretty good pace. 13, I thought was a key putt because I looked at the leaderboard after birdieing 12, and I'm still maybe one or two back. Birdie holes coming in, and I'm like I've got to start making birdies almost every hole coming in, it seems like. You don't change your mind a ton, but you do shift to being more aggressive.
Q. You're a different player than you were back in 2012. I've said that before. You were a good putter back then. You're an even better putter now, even without the belly putter. This is your seventh win now. What does this do for you in terms of what you want to go accomplish and continue to accomplish now as a veteran player?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I think the struggles of 2015 and '16 on the greens especially -- you know, I didn't make the team events. I didn't make TOUR Championship, not in Maui, and once I got back into Atlanta and back into Maui, I realized just I was thankful. I realized I'm not going to take any success out here for granted anymore. It doesn't come easy, and it's a fleeting game. I mean, the best players in the world have struggled from time to time. A lot of times you don't know when it's coming. The only thing you can do is kind of stay day to day and try to prepare and get better.
But I think that tough couple years did make me just a more thankful golfer when success does come just because I know how hard it is to be successful out here.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #181 at 2020-06-22 00:46:00 GMT
