DEAN & DELUCA Invitational
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Webb Simpson
Quick Quotes
Q. Webb, this was your first start here since 2010. You must have felt pretty comfortable out there.
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, it was windy, and I knew the course was playing tough, but got off to a good start, hit some shots at the hole and making some putts. It got gusty at times, but it was just one of those days where I felt like I swung it well, putted well, and everything kind of worked together.
Q. How did it get back on your schedule?
WEBB SIMPSON: Normally I take a couple weeks off after THE PLAYERS because it's kind of the midpoint of the season, but with our baby coming early, I need to play. I need to get in a rhythm. I was hurting February and March, so I figured I'd try to start playing a lot more and see if I can get back in a good rhythm.
Q. Is this a course you figure you're going to do pretty well on? Seems like it would suit your eye.
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, it's a shorter course, which is good for me. It does look good to me, and I like these greens. These greens are bent, and they roll really well. They remind me a lot of what I grew up on. So yeah, I think I'm comfortable here even though I haven't been here in six years.
Q. What was the brake light for you with the newborn? Were you playing any golf, or was it good for you to maybe get away from the game for a couple of weeks?
WEBB SIMPSON: I would normally say yes, but I've had so much time off in February and March that I've been ready and wanting to play just as much as I can. It was good to get back out here.
Q. Did you find anything in practice in the last couple weeks that made you think that a round like this was on the horizon?
WEBB SIMPSON: You know, me and my caddie Paul (Tesori) have just talked a lot about trying to simplify things. When I played my best golf in 2011, that year we kept everything so simple. Maybe that's it, just clearing up my mind a little bit. But it feels nice to finally post a good number. It's been quite a few weeks.
Q. How long have you been using that putter?
WEBB SIMPSON: I've been messing around with it for a while, but this is the first time in competition.
Q. What made you decide to put it in this week?
WEBB SIMPSON: You know, I was still way more inconsistent than I want to be, and it felt better than the last time I tried it. Rolled a few with it the first day and felt pretty good, and just kind of stuck with it.
Q. How did you find the wind out there?
WEBB SIMPSON: It was windy, yeah. It was gusty.
Q. Let's talk about today. Great round of golf. The conditions were kind of squirrelly with the wind. You have to be very pleased.
WEBB SIMPSON: I was. It was one of those days where kind of everything clicked, everything worked together, and drove it well, hit my irons pretty good, and made some putts. You know, it's been quite a long time since everything has worked together in one round, so it feels nice.
Q. Talk about the putting because I know you've been working hard on it, and when it comes together like it did today, you've got to feel like, hey, something clicked.
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, the thing that's been missing are those putts that kind of keep the momentum going, the four- to eight-footers. I might hit a good shot and it goes over the green. I chip it to six feet, and those are really the ones that keep your round going. So yeah, I mean, I did that well today, and the putter felt great, so I'm excited.
Q. How do you approach round 2 with the weather forecast being kind of iffy? Does that bother you at all?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, it's something to think about. I mean, it's going to be hard to get a lot of hours of sleep tonight just because we have to wake up so early, but I think going into it expecting we're going to be delayed, we're going to maybe even play some and come off the golf course like we did this morning. But now we're getting into summer and we'll deal with it a lot, so we're used to it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Rev #1 by #166 at 2016-05-27 00:09:00 GMT
