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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

February 5, 2017

Webb Simpson

Scottsdale, Arizona

BRIAN DECKER: I'm sure it's not the exact result you were hoping for, but overall you have to be pleased, putting yourself in the position of winning and making great improvements in your game this week. Overall, what do you take away from your game this week?

WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I feel like two weeks ago I was pretty lost. You know, I shot 5- or 6-under at Nicklaus to make the cut, the CareerBuilder, and I just felt terrible about my game. I went and saw Billy Harmon, and he really helped me out.

You know, started hitting it better. Feel like I have been putting pretty well for a few months now. Show up here, little more confident.

I don't hit it that great the first couple rounds. Paul notices something, so we go work on it. You know, that's all we do is kind of fine-tune everything. And came out this weekend and I hit it great.

So, yeah, I mean, to shoot 7-under on Sunday, birdieing 17 and 18 is a great feeling, knowing I had to do it. But, you know, Hideki is a great player, obviously. I knew he'd be a tough competitor in the playoff. I wish I could have a couple of putts back and hit them a little harder.

Quite honestly, the note says 18, that putt is really fast. Almost had enough speed the second time around. And then 10 was, you know, again, a roll short. 17, I thought I made it, but of course, you know, he made it. He's a great champion.

BRIAN DECKER: Questions?

Q. At what point did you become aware that Bubba was out there, rooting for you? What did that mean?
WEBB SIMPSON: Well, he's one of my closest friends. You know, to see him out there, you know, I don't know what all he's doing today, but he left everything and came out to support me.

He was right there beside me, and it felt great. He's always been supportive of me, and, you know, his friends on Tour. You know, really thoughtful of him, and, you know, I thought about it over the putt on 10, I thought, you know, this kind of makes me want to make it more with him right here. That would have been pretty cool.

Q. What did you find in your golf swing allowed you to hit it better over the weekend?
WEBB SIMPSON: Paul noticed I was kind of swaying off the ball a little bit, and also that my weight shift in the back swing wasn't getting into my right knee enough.

So we just hit only 30 balls probably Friday. You know, I came out Saturday, came out yesterday, good warmup and felt really good all day. You know, sometimes in this game it's a guessing game what you're doing wrong. Sometimes you know, and thankfully on Friday he knew what was going on.

You know, if you hit it well around here, you're going to have a lot of birdie chances. That's what we did this weekend. That's how we were able to shoot a couple good rounds.

Q. You have obviously ridden a bit of an emotional roller coaster the last few hours. Talk about getting back in the mix, though, the adrenaline and what that will do for you going forward.
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, it felt great. I mean, it really did. I didn't look at a leaderboard until 18. I was just trying to keep doing my rehearsals, and, you know, taking every shot as its own challenge.

Once I got in the playoff, this was my fourth playoff, I think, it feels great to know that, you know, you and the guy you're playing beat the field this week and you're going for the trophy.

So there's an element of being relaxed in the playoff, you know. It's match play. But, yeah, I mean, thankfully I was in the fifth-to-the-last group, so I didn't have to wait too long.

Q. The putt at 10, did you think it was in?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah. Well, I didn't think it was in but I thought I had a chance. Same as 18 the second time. I knew, five feet to go, it needed to get on a little bit.

10 was a tricky speed putt. It's downhill and then uphill. And then, you know, obviously 17 was my best putt. We had a similar putt in the regulation. It went a little left of the hole. My putt today went right of the hole. They put that pin kind of perfectly on the fall line.

Q. You're 6 behind to start the day. A lot of courses you're not going make up that kind of ground. Here do you think, I have a shot? Because you can go low early and put some pressure on the leaders because it's harder for them to be as aggressive as guys coming from behind?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I mean, the start to this course is not that easy, and so when I eagled 3, that was a big bonus, and then good birdies at 6 and 8.

So once I turned at 4-under, I knew that the birdie holes for this golf course were on the back and they were in front of me.

You know, the reason it's a great course is because those birdie holes have the trouble so a lot can happen. You know, I could have easily gotten home on 15, but we decided to lay up because I was in between clubs. You know, obviously 17 and 18.

I never had a number in mind. Honestly wasn't thinking about winning. I was just trying to come out and continue what I worked on yesterday.

Q. In the context of the putting travails since the ban for you, you have obviously had great putts this week and finishes with a few you hoped had gone in. What do you take away putting-wise from this experience?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I mean, putting has always kinda been my thing. If I putt well, I seem to play well.

You know, I'm just thankful that, you know, I have kind of found a method that's been working. I hope it works for a long time. But I know that this game is a fickle game, and, you know, things happen.

So I'm trying to just understand kind of this method why it's working. I feel like if any change has happened mentally with my putting, it's been that I have just tried to simplify it, don't take too much time. Yeah, just be thankful.

I'm thankful that I made some putts and had a chance to win the golf tournament.

Q. Can you describe what the feeling was and what the atmosphere was during that playoff, the large crowds following you guys from hole to hole as it kept going on?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I mean, I knew a lot of people would stay, but given the Super Bowl, I'm sure a bunch of people left. They were great. You know, Saturday is always the craziest day, and today felt like a walk in the park compared to yesterday, because yesterday I played with Phil, and it was crazy and fun and enjoyable.

But today was almost -- the golf fans came out today. The partiers were out yesterday.

But, yeah, the playoff, we had good support. Seemed like, you know, tons of people on every hole.

Q. You look noticeably thinner than a year ago. Is that by design?
WEBB SIMPSON: Not really. I tried to change my eating habits, just because -- I tried it for a little while, and I always thought the people who said, you know, that they felt a certain way after a meal were lying, but I ate healthy for a little while to test it out. I felt better and had more energy.

I didn't try to lose any weight. It just kind of happened.

Q. Did that affect your golf, the swing, or anything?
WEBB SIMPSON: I don't think so. You know, we didn't notice anything. Distance-wise, nothing changed.

Q. No sugar?
WEBB SIMPSON: Limited sugar, but I'm about to have In-N-Out. That's not good for me (smiling).

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