Webb Simpson named U.S. Presidents Cup assistant captain
Webb Simpson will serve as a U.S. Presidents Cup captain's assistant this year and reflects on what it means to be back with the squad.
Video Transcript
Webb Simpson was added as an assistant captain to Brandt Snedeker's backroom squad.
He's of course a veteran of three President's Cup teams as a player.
And Webb Simpson joins us now.
Webb, congratulations on getting an unpaid job here as you enter your 40s, and happy belated birthday, by the way.
You just turned 41 at the weekend.
You've been in this job before as an assistant captain at the President's Cup for Davis Love.
What did you learn from that experience that you think will be useful this time around?
Well, I learned a lot.
You know, I was around Zach Johnson, Freddie Couples, these guys who have done this for a long time, Steve Stricker, Davis Love.
So my, my goal that week was to learn as much as I could in case I had the opportunity to do it again, after that week.
And I didn't realize how much statistics go into kind of the golf course, the pairings, the flow and rhythm of the week.
And I, I really learned from those guys to be in tune with the players, really talking to their caddies.
How are they doing?
How are they feeling?
And I had a tremendous week being at home, playing a very small role in helping these guys get the job done.
So I learned a lot.
I feel like I applied it to the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
And again, Bethpage, you're there a full week.
I was about a year and a half into the planning with Keegan, and so I learned a lot that week as well.
So couldn't be more excited to be part of Brandt's team and, hopefully, you know, get squared away and go do some good stuff at Medinah.
Well, you've been shoulder to shoulder with Brandt for a long time.
You've known him, buddies, competitors, rivals.
How would you describe his leadership style?
What kind of captain has he been so far?
He's an incredible competitor on the golf course, and that bleeds over into his role as a captain.
He's very organized.
He's very in tune with kind of the structure of pairings and, you know, President's Cup's a different animal than Ryder Cup in that it's still five matches, but it's over four days instead of three.
And, you know, he played.
He, he played in team events, so he knows what it's like to be a player.
And I think he learned a great deal at Montreal being under Jim Furyk, and they had great succe- success there.
So, Brandt brings tremendous leadership to these guys.
I think the guys really trust him.
The guys really love Brandt.
And I f- I think Brandt's a personality where he's a strong leader.
The guys also feel like they can come talk to him about anything, which is a tough to, tough thing to balance both of those, but he's doing a great job already.
I can see it.
You're accumulating more experience as part of the backroom team in these events, Webb.
You also have playing experience, three President's Cup teams that never lost, three Ryder Cup teams that never won.
Do you think the US team actually approaches those events differently?
Do you feel as though there's a little bit more pressure on the US side going up against Europe just because of the recent run of results?
Probably so.
I think there's, there's definitely more pressure that we put on ourselves in the Ryder Cup, and I think part of that is just natural.
Europe's, beaten us more times than we've beat them the last couple of decades, and, we're kind of behind the eight ball there.
So I think we come in maybe trying too hard.
And I think, you know, hopefully next year, Jim Furyk's team at Adare Manor will come in, just knowing that they're capable to win, knowing that, yes, on paper they might be better, but on the golf course they, they need to be better.
And, you know, Europe, at the end of the day, at Bethpage, they made more putts than we did.
I don't think the camaraderie issue of the American players is an issue anymore.
Most of the guys live in South Florida.
Most of the guys travel together, play practice rounds together, stay at tournaments together.
And so, I mean, I, I think speaking for Bethpage, that was the closest-knit team I've ever been a part of, so that's certainly not the issue.
I think Europe played better than we did.
And in the President's Cup, I think we have been naturally more confident than the international team.
But Brandt's gonna warn these guys, and he, he already has, that we've gotta play great golf to s- to, to win.
There's, there's no questions about that.
The internationals form a great team every President's Cup.
We still gotta go out and make birdies and get the job done.
You know, Keegan Bradley's talked about a personal Ryder Cup hangover that really kind of slowed him down to start his 2026.
Any concern about there being a, a team-wide hangover from what happened last year at Bethpage Black?
I don't think so.
I think the, the bad taste left in everyone's mouth was more of just losing, and I think if I was one of those players that was on that team and is gonna play at Medinah, I would be itching to get out there and try to go taste victory instead of, you know, having that taste of defeat still in our mouths.
We made an incredible run on that Sunday at, at Bethpage, and I think even though we lost, even though it was, you know, a very hard thing to experience as a team, I think that Sunday, the fight that we showed is kind of the spirit of the American team, I hope and I think for, for years to come.
We never gave up.
The guys played their hearts out Sunday.
It was almost a very historic day.
And so I think they're gonna bring that kind of confidence and hopefully that kind of demeanor and swag into Medinah.
But, it's gonna be a challenge, and I think they know that, and I think Brandt's gonna prepare them for that, that we cannot walk into this thinking, "Oh, the, the Americans have been successful each time."
it's gonna take a lot of work.
It's gonna take a lot of preparation on our end, and, no doubt these players will be ready.
A lot of chatter directed Brandt's way in the last few weeks, Webb, about adding young guys to the team in Jackson Cowan, Michael Thorbjornsen, both recent winners.
It seems to be predicated on this notion that the President's Cup ought to be an incubator for US teams for the Ryder Cup.
Do you buy that argument at all?
'Cause I can't imagine Brandt Snedeker is approaching this job by thinking how can he help Jim Furyk a year from now.
No, I don't think so at all.
I, I don't think in terms of which players we're gonna pick.
I think Brandt's only goal in assembling this 12-man team is to get the 12 best Americans we can possibly get for the Presidents Cup.
Now, certainly there's things that Jim might be thinking for the Ryder Cup in, in observing the guys or pairings or, you know, guys playing certain formats for sure.
But I think Brandt's only goal is to win at Medinah.
And like I said, to assemble the best 12 players that we have right now, or I guess come, you know, the week after the Tour Championship when he makes his, his six picks.
So I think that's where his head is, and I think that's the right place to be.
Well, another young person getting a lot of love is Michael Brennan, a Wake Forest alum like yourself.
When had you first started hearing the name Michael Brennan?
How well do you know him?
I know him pretty well.
We had the same favorite professor at Wake Forest, Michael Sloan.
But no, Jerry Haas and I are very close.
Jerry keeps me informed about his players and, you know, Jerry tells me who's really good, who's pretty good.
So, i- Michael's ratings were always very high, and Jerry was very honest about, you know, the, the players that he had and their potential in the PGA Tour.
It was never a doubt for Jerry that Michael would have success out here.
Would he win twice as early as he's done it, by he's 24?
I don't know if Jerry thought that, but man, he's got every, every intangible that you would want.
He hits it long, hits his irons great.
He's worked hard on his putting and it's paid off and, I was super happy for him yesterday.
It was fun to see Jerry Haas out there as well, rooting me on a little bit on the front and then following Michael for the rest of his day.
When do we get to hear an announcement about Captain Webb Simpson?
Is that something you aspire to, Webb?
I definitely aspire to it.
I think there's a little bit more golf that I wanna play, where I really give it my all these next couple of years.
Especially we got Paul Tesori on the bag.
He's hungry to, to perform well again, like we did for a while.
But you know, I see what an honor it was for Keegan up, up close and, and also my experience here at Quail Hollow Club under Davis.
I know what it means as a captain.
Also know what it takes and the time and energy and effort.
And so if I get that oppor- opportunity one day, I would, I would jump at the, at the chance to, to do it and lead a team.
They're, they're the best weeks of the year.
You know, Jim Furyk told me, my first Presidents Cup in 2011 in Melbourne, he said, "There's two things you'll remember at the end of your career.
It's your wins and your team event experiences."
And he just told me to soak it all in.
You know, it's the only week of the year where the wives hang out, the caddies hang out, we're all together as a team, as a unit, and that's really fun.
It's hard to replace that any other week of the year.
So I'm delighted to, to have a chance at f- doing this again here in a few weeks.
Well, as someone who still wants to play and play well, and someone who's been involved in PGA Tour backroom governance, what do you think of the changes coming to the PGA Tour Championship series, Challengers Series?
Do you like what the PGA Tour is becoming?
Yes and no.
I, I love the, the structure moving forward i, i- in terms of what we had to do from here.
It was clear from tournament directors and sponsors that fields needed to get a little bigger, cuts needed to come back.
So I think those type of small changes are gonna be really good.
You know, it was nice as a rookie in 2009 knowing, "Man, I might play against Tiger Woods 15 times this year."
Well, now rookies or first timers, you know, maybe from DP World Tour, they're not gonna have that same opportunity at first to play against Scottie Scheffler week in and week out.
So that's the only part of it that I don't love.
But considering where we are, where we've been the last few years, I think the PGA Tour is in a great spot, and I'm very excited about 2027 season because obviously there's more to play for next season, I think, than any season yet.
Because 2028 would be incredible to be in that top series playing against the best players every week.
One of the things that is yet to be resolved, Webb, is this idea of what is the eligibility status for, for various guys to keep a card on tour to earn that status.
That might not sit well with a lot of veterans if that list is winnowed down to the extent that it seems likely to be.
Are, are you among the veterans who think that they, they need to be careful in terms of just how many status criterias are, are, are thrown out the window and still actually have some consideration for, for veterans?
Or do you think it really ought to be the sort of flat Earth meritocracy here and let's play?
No, I th- I think they've gotta be very careful.
I think, you know, these, these exemptions or these things that veterans can earn were approved and established by the board.
And you know, I served on the board with five other players, so this is a, a player, a, a, a player-participated board where, where players get to make real decisions, make Their, their vote really matters, their voice matters.
And so I think Kirsten Burgess on eligibility is doing a phenomenal job of keeping that in mind.
I think the whole board is doing a phenomenal job.
But I, I, I don't think they can throw out some of the things that have already been granted to players.
But at the same time, I think me as a veteran, knowing I have career money as a possibility to use if I need it next year, that would be very difficult to swallow if they just wiped it away.
But as my understanding goes now, those, those certain criteria are not gonna be taken away as of right now, and, hopefully they won't, moving forward.
Webb, I wanna leave you with this.
You know Medinah, you were part of the US Ryder Cup team in 2012.
American meaty Midwestern golf course.
But Jeff Ogilvy has put his hands on it.
Any concern that what might have been an American advantage in terms of course setup has been diminished to a certain extent?
I haven't been there yet.
I can't wait to get up there and see it for myself.
But what I've heard is it's, it's long.
The, the rough, can be very challenging.
The greens are very sloped.
And so it's gonna be, fr- from what I understand, a very different Medinah than what I played and what I'm used to.
Even from the BMW when Justin Thomas won.
So, I can't wait to get up there.
It's hard for me to conceptualize it without seeing it.
But you know, we know our advantages as the American team.
We know the international strengths.
And so obviously we're gonna do our best to set the golf course up in a way that favors us, as a home team always does.
So can't wait to see it.
It's, it's an amazing venue for a tournament like that, so it's gonna be an awesome week.
Well, we're looking forward to seeing you manning the walkie-talkie that week as America tries to win yet another Presidents Cup.
Webb, thanks for the time.
Yeah, thanks for having me, guys.
