# Scott Simpson (golfer)

Scott William Simpson (born September 17, 1955) is an American professional golfer.

## Amateur career

Simpson was born in San Diego, California, and played college golf at the University of Southern California, where he was two-time medalist at the NCAA Championship in 1976 and 1977. At the end of 1976 Golf Digest ranked Simpson the #1 amateur in the country.

## Professional career

He turned professional in 1977 and graduated in 1978. He played on the PGA Tour from 1979, and won seven PGA Tour events between 1980 and 1998.
The highlight of Simpson's career was the U.S. Open in 1987 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, his only major title. He birdied the 14th, 15th, and 16th holes of the final round to overtake Tom Watson by one stroke and finished with a three under par total of 277.
Simpson became eligible to play senior golf in 2005 and won his first and only Champions Tour title in 2006.
In team competition, Simpson played for the United States in the Walker Cup in 1977 and the Ryder Cup in 1987. He lists bible study among his interests and attributes his success to it. He and his wife Cheryl have two children: Brea Yoshiko and Sean.
Simpson was previously a Democrat (during Bill Clinton's presidency he was the only PGA Tour player vocally to support him), but became a Republican later on and supported George W. Bush.

## Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete
* 1976 NCAA Division I Championship, Porter Cup
* 1977 NCAA Division I Championship

## Professional wins (16)
### PGA Tour wins (7)

* Legend
* Major championships (1)
* Other PGA Tour (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Jul 6, 1980 | Western Open | 70-69-70-72=281 | −7 | 5 strokes | Andy Bean |
| 2 | Jun 10, 1984 | Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | 66-68-70-65=269 | −15 | 5 strokes | David Graham, Jay Haas, Mark O'Meara |
| 3 | Apr 5, 1987 | Greater Greensboro Open | 70-73-69-70=282 | −6 | 2 strokes | Clarence Rose |
| 4 | Jun 21, 1987 | U.S. Open | 71-68-70-68=277 | −3 | 1 stroke | Tom Watson |
| 5 | May 28, 1989 | BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic | 72-68-71-67=278 | −10 | Playoff | Bob Tway |
| 6 | May 16, 1993 | GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic | 65-66-68-71=270 | −10 | 1 stroke | Billy Mayfair, Corey Pavin, D. A. Weibring |
| 7 | Feb 8, 1998 | Buick Invitational | 69-71-64=204* | −12 | Playoff | Skip Kendall |
*Note: The 1998 Buick Invitational was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1983 | Kemper Open | Chen Tze-chung, Fred Couples Barry Jaeckel, Gil Morgan | Couples won with birdie on second extra hole Jaeckel eliminated by par on first hole |
| 2 | 1989 | BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic | Bob Tway | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1991 | U.S. Open | Payne Stewart | Lost 18-hole playoff; Stewart: +3 (75), Simpson: +5 (77) |
| 4 | 1994 | Southwestern Bell Colonial | Nick Price | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1998 | Buick Invitational | Skip Kendall | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### PGA of Japan Tour wins (3)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Apr 29, 1984 | Chunichi Crowns | 68-73-67-67=275 | −5 | Playoff | Isao Aoki |
| 2 | Nov 18, 1984 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | 71-71-72-68=282 | −6 | Playoff | Bernhard Langer |
| 3 | May 1, 1988 | The Crowns (2) | 71-69-71-67=278 | −2 | 3 strokes | David Ishii, Masashi Ozaki |
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (2–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1984 | Chunichi Crowns | Isao Aoki | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1984 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | Bernhard Langer | Won with par on second extra hole |

### Other wins (5)

* 1979 Hawaii State Open
* 1981 Hawaii State Open
* 1990 Perrier Invitational (Europe, not a European Tour event)
* 1993 Hawaii State Open
* 1994 Hawaii State Open

### Champions Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | Sep 3, 2006 | Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach | 67-69-68=204 | −12 | 1 stroke | David Edwards, Jay Haas |

## Major championships
### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 1987 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | −3 (71-68-70-68=277) | 1 stroke | Tom Watson |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| Masters Tournament | | CUT | | 11 | 40 | T41 | T25 | T27 | CUT | T38 |
| U.S. Open | T45 | T23 | T15 | T13 | T25 | T15 | CUT | 1 | T6 | T6 |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | T65 | T62 | | T26 |
| PGA Championship | T30 | CUT | T32 | T9 | T6 | T12 | T41 | T47 | CUT | T53 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 |
| Masters Tournament | T7 | T22 | T13 | T11 | T27 | | T29 | | CUT |
| U.S. Open | T14 | 2 | T64 | T46 | T55 | T28 | T40 | CUT | 58 |
| The Open Championship | T39 | T57 | | T9 | CUT | CUT | T33 | | |
| PGA Championship | T66 | CUT | | T6 | CUT | T54 | CUT | | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 12 |
| U.S. Open | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 17 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 11 |
| Totals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 21 | 60 | 47 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1982 U.S. Open – 1986 Masters)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1993 Open Championship – 1993 PGA)

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | T51 | CUT | T2 | T61 | T33 | T33 | CUT | T4 | CUT | CUT | CUT | | T17 | CUT | CUT | T11 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | | | T63 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

## U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
* Walker Cup: 1977 (winners)
Professional
* Ryder Cup: 1987
* Kirin Cup: 1987 (winners)