May We See You In March: Webb Simpson Wins The Players
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The final Players in May went out in a blaze of red number glory, with winner Webb Simpson's -18 under total in no way undermined by the 71.275 scoring average, a whopping two strokes lower than 2017’s 73.291.
Immaculate conditioning, humidity keeping the turf moist enough and a course that Tiger Woods noted for playing incredibly short all week, did well to stand up to today's finest. Though noteworthy is May's 63 trend with Webb Simpson and Brooks Koepka posting course-record tying 63’s in 2018, meaning six of the eight 63s were posted in May.
Webb Simpson will defend next March when the course is overseeded with rye grass, the wind is blowing more and in less predictable directions and likely plays faster. While this won't address the incredible vulnerability of the par-5's, the course may play effectively narrower when the Bermuda grasses role is muted.
Steve DiMeglio's USA Today game story notes that Simpson wasn't at his finest Sunday but the best and most impressive work was behind him.
Mike McAllister on how the long Sunday wait, the pressure, TPC Sawgrass, the early charges all made a seven stroke leader much harder to hold on to than Simpson imagined.
Brentley Romine at Golfweek with notes, quotes and shots of the final round.
Simpson's mixed bag of sticks courtesy of David Dusek.
Ben Everill went deep on Simpson's remarkable putting week and how it's now a strength of his game.
Simpson spoke frankly all week about issues he faced in changing his putting style as a result of the anchor ban, admitting after the win how, in a roundabout way, he's grateful now for the anchoring ban as I write for Golfweek.
Tiger Woods finished at 11 under and was in a tie for 11th, but gave the crowd a thrill and continued to assert that he's well ahead of schedule. DiMeglio's Woods roundup is here.
Dan Kilbridge with a Golfweek wrap on Tiger's week that started out ok and almost evolved into something epic.
