Q. How do you feel?
WEBB SIMPSON: Feeling good. Great start today. You know, only one bogey on my 2nd hole. Other than that played really solid, and fun to watch somebody shoot 62.
Q. That was one heck of a round. How much different is the golf course from a year ago?
WEBB SIMPSON: I think the rough is thicker. I got a lot of bad lies in the rough. The greens are perfect. I mean it’s the way the golf course is meant to be played. Quite frankly, it’s more enjoyable to play it. I think everybody is really pleased.
Q. You obviously came back last week. Congratulations by the way, all the events of the summer, second child.
How are you feeling with your game, obviously trying to knock the rust off?
WEBB SIMPSON: It was tough. It showed, you know, in the first 9 holes but the last 27, you know, I told you guys the other day I played really solid. You know, I built off the confidence from that week. I thinks it’s paying off.
Q. Good to see you back.
WEBB SIMPSON: I appreciate it.
Q. Give us a summary of your day.
WEBB SIMPSON: I’m really happy with the way I played. I bogeyed the 11th hole which was the 2nd hole of the day. After that I didn’t drop any shots. Tee to green played solid. It’s one of those rounds you get done, you’re pleased with the overall way the day went.
Q. You talked about this earlier in the week, the first time you’re defending on the PGA TOUR is the first time you play in this event as a Major champion.
What’s the difference from the fans perception towards you? Did you notice anything different compared to last year?
WEBB SIMPSON: They were great. I know so many people around here. I got tons of friends and family. The reception was great and playing with two ACC guys, there’s a lot of Go Pack and Go Heels.
Q. Playing with Davis Love, III, did you guys converse at all about the upcoming Ryder Cup?
WEBB SIMPSON: We didn’t really talk strategy. We talked clothing. I’m pretty excited about that. I love being with Davis. I have known him for a few years now. He’s been great to me. I’m looking forward to being on the team.
Q. Any hints at what he’s looking at for design?
WEBB SIMPSON: Talking about the clothes?
Q. Yeah.
WEBB SIMPSON: I tried them on at Memorial. I was on the outside looking in then. I liked the clothes so much I had to go see.
Q. Great motivation. Talk about your round today, a couple highlights.
WEBB SIMPSON: It was just good to get back into competition again after missing the cut last week. And, you know, I knew the back-9 was going to play tough so I bogeyed the 11th and after that I kind of wanted to stay patient and the birdies came and just played good, solid golf tee to green and felt well.
Overall just a great day. My birdie on 8 was probably the highlight of the day and I’m in good position.
Q. Playing like Carl. Get on a hot streak. Does that affect how you play, you’ve got a partner playing well?
WEBB SIMPSON: It’s always good to watch somebody playing well just to get an idea of what it looks like, but he played beautifully all day and Davis played well, also.
You know, anytime you got a couple guys playing good with you I think it’s a good thing. You kind of feed off each other and make the course seem easier.
Q. Was there anything different about being the defending champion in your game today or your mental state while you’re out there?
WEBB SIMPSON: I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t that bad. I never really thought about it a whole lot, you know, because at the end of the day I’m playing with Carl and Davis who Carl shoots 8-under.
It’s a whole new year and there’s plenty of great players in this field. So, I kind of had to worry about what I was doing and just — I had great memories there walking on the back-9. I was thinking about what I did last year.
But, you know, overall I didn’t feel that much pressure for being the defending champion.
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