Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
In his first go-round at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational, Webb Simpson is most definitely making the most out of the opportunity – at least after the first round. Simpson fired an impressive 6 under par 64 to take the first round lead. He’s currently one shot clear of Swede Henrik Stenson who has been on a tear lately.
Simpson seemed to pick up birdies in bunches during his first 18 holes. He got his round underway on the back nine where he carded four birdies – three of which came in the four holes before he made the turn. He birdied 17 and 18 and then followed that up with birdies at 1 and two. He gave a shot back at three and then birdied six and seven. Eight birdies and two bogeys on the day is a pretty solid opening round at Firestone Country Club.
He knows the quality of the field he is up against and Simpson is aware that if he hopes to win this tournament he’s going to have to put together three more solid rounds of golf. But he feels he is up to the challenge. “With the incredible field it draws every year, you know, this is a tournament you want to be in more than any others with the majors and the FedEx Cup events,” he said. “You want to play where the best players in the world are playing.”
It looks like Simpson may have figured out the fact that hitting fairways at Firestone is imperative in order to have success. He was sixth in driving accuracy. He also only needed 22 putts over the 18 holes in his first round, racking up an impressive strokes gained – putting number of 5.301. If he keeps hitting fairways and excelling on the greens, Simpson is going to be in this thing for the long haul.
Carl Conrad is the Senior Golf Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter or add him to your network on Google.
