Webb Simpson is learning to putt all over again.
It hasn’t been easy.
Simpson was one of a number of PGA Tour golfers who used an anchored putting technique, as he secured a long club to his chest. That is no longer permissible. The rules of golf changed, starting Jan. 1, 2016, and Simpson had to change with the new times.
Simpson finished the 2016 PGA Tour season 144th in total putting. He improved to 95th this season before the FedEx Cup playoff finale Tour Championship.
Simpson is in a three-way tie for the Tour Championship lead after two rounds at East Lake Golf Club. He is 7-under par for the event and ninth overall in putting in the 30-player field. Simpson was 14th in Round 1 and fifth in Round 2.
“When you putt with something for 11 years and overnight you're forced to try something different, it's going to take a while,” Simpson said after his 3-under par 67 Friday. “So it was just I had to relearn a skill in the game that I played for 20 years of my life, so that was tough.”
