I flew to Hawaii just to hear Scott Simpson’s stories.
It’s not entirely accurate, I didn’t know Simpson lived there or had become men’s golf coaching at University of Hawaii, but it was a highlight of my trip. Especially the time spent in Oahu during the Sony Open of Hawaii.
Simpson, 67 shared so many great stories, I previously published a story about his partnership with Bill Murray, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. I also posted a broad-ranging Q&A. But when we moved to the U.S. Open conversation, I went into enough depth that I decided to save that part for a standalone Q&A.
Simpson’s U.S. Open win at The Olympic Club, San Francisco in 1987 was the culmination of his seven PGA Tour victories between 1980 and 1998. In the final round, he birdied the 14, 15 and 16th holes to beat Tom Watson by a stroke. He ended with a total of 277, which is three-under-par.
Here’s Simpson talking about the importance of changing his attitude when he first arrived at The Olympic Club. He also talks about the magical putting he had in the final round, and how a writer said that a tuna-sandwich ranked “just slightly higher” than a thrill meter.
