It was just another week at the crazy Waste Management Phoenix Open.
In a week when a spectator was arrested for stealing alcohol at the tournament and then forcing police to drag him out of a canal, and where tens of thousands jeered and cheered at the 16th hole, as well as playing tribute to fallen basketball star Kobe Bryant, it was Webb Simpson who prevailed, taking home his sixth PGA Tour win.
Simpson, who recently had his annual check-in with coach Butch Harmon, made a gusty birdie putt on 18 to force a playoff and keep the party rolling in Scottsdale. After finding the fairway, Simpson gave himself yet another look at birdie on the 18th green, this time for the win. And as Groundhog Day would have it, Simpson’s result was Déjà vu all over again, draining the putt for the victory and capping off a memorable week.
After nearly two years without a victory, his last coming at The Players in 2018, Simpson says he’s re-evaluated his approach on how to be successful on Tour. “About two years ago I made my focus ‘step by step’” said Simpson, a work ethic philosophy he coopted from Jeff Bezos’ after reading about the business mogul. “It’s a reminder for me to take care of the little things, and the big things seem to take care of themselves,” Simpson said after being asked about the mantra being inscribed on his wedges. After a sensational week on one of the loudest stages in golf, it appears that taking the process one step at a time is paying off.
The 16th hole is always the biggest star at the Waste Management, but it had a challenger this week in Denny McCarthy. The Titleist golfer made birdies on the 16th all four days, something that hasn’t been done in the tournament in 17 years.
Rickie Fowler debuted his TaylorMade Pix ball this week, a project he worked on with TaylorMade engineers. The other interesting thing? Fowler had a TaylorMade MG2 60 degree wedge in his bag as well. That’s unusual as Fowler plays clubs by Cobra.
Matthew Wolff paid tribute to the late LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant by wearing a Kobe jersey on the 16th hole this week, but he also caught some attention for his TaylorMade Truss putter. The unusual putter, which Wolff debuted this week, looks like a traditional putter, but has a “truss” added for stability. Wolff used a TM1 mallet version of the Truss putter.
Speaking of a tribute to Kobe, on Sunday the pin position was 24 paces on and 8 from the left, the two numbers the basketball star wore during his career.
8 24 @WMPhoenixOpen pic.twitter.com/VpP1XQUoGp
— Golf Town (@GolfTown) February 2, 2020
What’s in the winner’s the bag:
Driver: Titleist TS 3 10.5 3 Wood: Titleist TS2 5 Wood: Titleist 913Fd 18° Hybrid: Titleist 913Hd 20°, Titleist 915Hd 23.5° Irons: Titleist 620 MB Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 54° and Titleist Vokey SM5 60° Putter: Odyssey Tank Cruiser V-Line Ball: Titleist Pro V1