In most cases, Augusta National mastery must be learned. Webb Simpson, 35, seems to be making strides in that department.
Nineteen months ago at the 2019 Masters, Simpson logged a third-round 8-under 64 at Augusta National, a number that’s only one shot off the lowest score ever recorded in the Masters – a 63 initially posted by Nick Price in 1986 and later matched by Greg Norman in 1996.
Simpson returned this year with an opening 5-under 67 that left him flirting with the top of the leaderboard. He trailed only Paul Casey, who had 7-under 65, midway through the first round.
Patience opens the door for the kind of learning curve that allows a man to shoot such numbers at Augusta National. Simpson, a seven-time winner on Tour, said it was a matter of respecting the golf course. He has played the Masters every year since his debut in 2012, and those starts were dotted with bogeys, short-sided approach shots and failing to play to the proper side of the green.
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“I got to the point where I got tired of barely making the cut or missing the cut by one,” Simpson said. He missed three cuts in eight previous starts. Before a T-5 in 2019, he had never cracked the top 20.
Simpson’s day was a long one. He arrived at the golf course at 5 a.m. and went out in the second group off No. 10 tee on Thursday morning, only to be called in shortly thereafter because of weather. The first round was called at 7:35 a.m. and delayed more than two hours.
When the round resumed at 10:22 a.m., Simpson continued to make his way around the back nine and was 2 under by the time he reached the first tee because of birdies at Nos. 13 and 15.
A birdie at No. 1 and an eagle at No. 2 bumped him up the leaderboard. Simpson closed out the front nine with seven pars to land at 67.
“I feel like I’m a pretty conservative golfer as it is, but I didn’t feel like I was giving some of these greens and approach shots enough credit for how severe the short side can be,” Simpson said of his changed mindset. “So we just shifted a little bit of our focus to kind of being ultra safe and know that there’s four par 5s, I’m going to have birdie opportunities. And when I did that, I started shooting better scores, making more birdies.”
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Simpson played those par 5s in 4 under on Thursday. He calls No. 13 his favorite hole in the world. That hole, and also No. 2, move to the left.
“I see that really, really well off the tee,” he said.
Simpson called it a “bizarre” day around Augusta with no patrons. He felt it particularly when he started the day on the 10th tee – where players normally must drive the ball through a shoot of people. He felt it too when playing competitor Marc Leishman eagled the 13th, though it produced no roar.
No one cheered when Simpson chipped in on the first hole for his birdie and no noise echoed out after the eagle on No. 2.
“But we were just talking out there,” Simpson said. “It’s so nice, we’re so thankful to be here. You know, it’s not the normal Masters that we’re used to, but still way better than not having one.”
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