Webb Simpson ready to defend THE PLAYERS Championship in March

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – THE PLAYERS Championship’s return to March has just one negative impact on Webb Simpson.

It shortens his reign as THE PLAYERS champion by a couple months.

Simpson had endured 4 ½ years without a win before last May’s triumph at TPC Sawgrass. He’ll return to THE PLAYERS Stadium Course in March to defend his title.

He’ll be playing for a new trophy, as well. The crystal that he hoisted last year has been replaced by a sterling silver trophy dipped in 24-karat gold vermeil.

No one has gone back-to-back at TPC Sawgrass. And Tiger Woods is the only man to win THE PLAYERS in both May and March.

Simpson has never played the tournament in March – he was still in college when the tournament first changed dates – but he thinks he’ll be up to the challenge.

He got a sneak peek of the conditions when he visited TPC Sawgrass on Monday for THE PLAYERS Championship’s media day. He also donated a sand wedge to the display of past champions’ clubs. He used that club to hole out from a bunker for eagle on the par-5 11th hole in the third round.

A barbecue sandwich, inspired by his North Carolina roots, was also unveiled. The brisket sandwich—named Simpson’s Sandy—will be served at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse now through tournament week and will also be available at select venues during tournament week.

“The course is in phenomenal shape,” Simpson said Monday. “I’ve been living at Quail Hollow since 2010, so I’m familiar with the overseeding process and how tricky it can be, and how you need a lot of things helping you, weather and rain and all that kind of stuff. It looks like they’ve done a phenomenal job here.”

March has provided a much larger range of winning scores at THE PLAYERS. Greg Norman set the tournament scoring record with a 24-under 264 total in 1994. Five years later, David Duval shot 3-under 285 to win the hardest PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass.

By contrast, Simpson’s 18-under 270 was the 10th consecutive winning score that was double-digits under par. From 2009-16, there was only a four-stroke range in the winning scores, from 12 under to 16 under. Thirteen under par was the winning score for four consecutive years.

“I think the new date is actually going to make the event even bigger and more special, and I think more attention will be on it because … this is the first really big tournament of the year,” Simpson said. “I think that's special knowing that when the guys come here, they know that the best players in the world are going to be here for the first time maybe all season competing for the trophy.”

Cooler weather and softer fairways will make the Stadium Course play longer and force players to hit driver more often. The final two holes, which usually played downwind in May, are more likely to play into the wind during the earlier date, making one of golf’s most famous finishing stretches even tougher.

Simpson hit hybrid off the 18th tee in last year’s final round. He estimated he’d need to hit driver or 3-wood off the tee next month.

Simpson said a par on 18 was one of the underrated moments from last year’s victory. He was on course-record pace in the second round, going 11 under par on his first 16 holes. He was caught between clubs on 17, though, and pushed his tee shot into the water surrounding the Island Green.

Making par on water-lined 18th, where the threat of another double-bogey lurked, not only allowed Simpson to tie the course record of 63. It also allowed him to erase the memories from the 17th.

“I just kind of said to myself, walking to 18, I said, it happens,” he said. “Plenty of guys are going to hit it in the water this week. Got to refocus. Par here is going to be big. And I end up two-putting and making par.

“I quickly forgot about 17 after parring 18. I think that gave me a lot of confidence going into Saturday. I think if I had slipped up again on 18 and made bogey, that would have been tough, so that hole for me was the biggest hole of the week.”

Simpson shot 68 in the third round to take a seven-shot lead and ended up winning by four shots.

The rest, as they say, is history. And next month Webb Simpson has the chance to make some more.