Simpson closed his final hole of the 2018 Players Championship with disappointment. His approach shot on the challenging 18th hole of TPC Sawgrass resulted in a double bogey after his iron shot flew directly over the flag, off the green, and into the water to the left. But all was not lost, a final round of one-over, 73, still left him 18-under (268).
He claimed his first title since 2013, four shots clear of runners-up Charl Schwartzel, Xander Schauffele and Jimmy Walker. Simpson’s key to success in the tournament was his putting. Simpson’s stats for ‘strokes gained putting’ have dramatically improved after the Players, moving him to 5th from 10th and proving that Simpson has finally regained his confidence on the greens.
Simpson previously used a belly putter that gave him the ability to anchor it against his waistline. However, when anchoring was outlawed at the start of the 2016 season, Simpson lost his reputation as a solid putter who was able to work the ball both ways. His results suffered as he failed to find the hole and the 2012 US Open champion fell out of the top-100 on the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained Putting rankings.
Struggling after the ban on anchored putters, Simpson was forced to change his grip. He began using a claw grip with his right hand on the eve of last year's Players and tied for 16th after back-toback seasons in which he missed the cut and tied for 66th.
The new technique came from the advice of 2010 Players champion Tim Clark who was trying different grips when he also had to convert from an anchored stroke. "Tim asked me how I've been putting, and I told him pretty inconsistent," said Simpson, as quoted by the PGA Tour. "[Clark] asked me had I ever tried the claw grip, and I said no," said Simpson. "So I tried it. I liked it. Thanks to Tim, I started putting better last year."
