Simpson was one of the rare players on the PGA Tour that played well both before and after the break. Simpson won in early February at the Waste Management Open and he picked up another win in his second start after the break at the RBC Heritage. The question is whether his recent surge is a sign of things to come or a blip on the radar. Considering he's topped $5 million in earnings just three times in 12 years on the PGA Tour, it's hard to imagine he can play much better than he did this past season. With that in mind, he holds little value in a salary cap format, but he's a strong late-1st-round or early 2nd-round candidate in draft leagues.
Perhaps the most unheralded star on the PGA Tour, Simpson just continues to produce year after year. Though he has only five wins in his career, he was fortunate enough to pick-up a major early-on and he's free of the stress that comes with being this productive without a major. Simpson is probably never going to be the guy that won $6 million in 2011 again, but he'll be the guy who wins between $3-$5 million every season for the foreseeable future. His earnings number came down a bit from the previous season last year, but not enough to consider him for salary cap purposes.
Simpson's first two seasons on the PGA Tour were nothing special, but he played well enough to keep his card after each seasons. His third season however was incredible. Simpsons picked-up two wins and three runner-up finishes that season on his way to over $6 million in earnings. This was in 2011, when $6 million seasons weren't nearly as common as they are now. In other words, for at least one season, Simpson was about as good as anyone. He followed that up with his first major the next season and everything was looking up. And then ... well, then nothing much happened ... relatively anyway. Simpson played well in the years following his major, but nothing approaching his stellar 2011 campaign until last season. Simpson found that magic once again last season as he surpassed the $5 million mark for the second time in his PGA Tour career. That said, Simpson's number is a bit out of reach in salary cap formats this season.
Simpson set the bar so high in 2011, when he won twice and earned more than $6 million that anything he's done since seems like a let down. The funny thing is, he's been really productive since 2011, he just hasn't come close to matching that production, but few have. Simpson again had another strong season and at just 32, there's no reason to think a dramatic drop-off is imminent. Now for the bad news, his number of more than $3.2 million is about the best he's done since his 2011 season and there's little chance he'll replicate that effort.
It's hard to imagine that just five years ago, Simpson had a season for the ages. He won two events and finished runner-up three times on his way to over $6 million in earnings. Simpson raised the bar that season and he's yet to get back to that spot, but that's not to say that he's been a failure either. In the five seasons since, Simpson has topped $2 million in earnings four times. The only time he failed to hit that mark was last season, which makes him a solid bounce-back candidate this year. In draft leagues he should go in the fourth or fifth round.
Is there a better player on the PGA Tour that goes more unnoticed than Simpson? Year-in and year-out, the guy just produces, but without the benefit of a high-profile win, it's hard to pick him out of a crowd. It wasn't always this way, after all, he did win the U.S. Open a few years back and for a time, he was the center of attention, but since that win he's slipped into the background again, quietly gobbling-up fat paychecks. You can't go wrong with Simpson, he's extremely reliable and he's got a pretty-high upside as well. He's a solid salary cap selection and should go somewhere in round two of your draft.
Simpson avoided the first-time-major-winner's hangover last year, but he didn't exactly take his game to the next level. Simpson has enough talent to be a top-10 player, but he'll have to step his game up this year. The good news is he's already picked up a win during the 2013-2014 portion of the schedule, so he's off to a good start this year -- if that matters. We've yet to see how the mini-season that concluded in November will affect the 2014 schedule, but whatever the outcome, Simpson will enter 2014 feeling good about his game. Simpson should go in the 10-20 range in draft leagues and he's also worth consideration in salary cap leagues.
After earning more than $6 million in 2011, expectations were sky high for Simpson entering last year. Although he didn't come near his earnings number from 2011, he did pick up his first major. One would have to guess that the major victory was worth more than the disparity in earnings from the previous year. Simpson's loss, however, is our gain as he's now a solid option in salary cap leagues for 2013. Simpson has as much talent as anyone on the PGA TOUR and as odd as it sounds, he has no business earning less than $4 million this season. Although he barely cracked the top 20 on the money list last year, Simpson should be considered in the first round of your draft league.
We all knew this guy could play, but there weren't many, if any, who expected Simpson to play this well, this early in his career. What started as a typical season turned into something else altogether near the beginning of June when Simpson simply took off. A Top-10 at the Memorial was followed by five consecutive Top-20s, but the best was yet to come. After an MC at the PGA Championship, Simpson captured his first win of the season at the Wyndham, but it wasn't his last. He won again two weeks later, and the end result was a second-place finish on the money list. The future is certainly bright for Simpson, but he's going to be hard-pressed to match his production from last season.
Simpson started his rookie season with a bang in 2009, but since then, we haven't seen that spark. He's played well enough to stay safely within the top 125 the last couple years, but more is expected of Simpson. His best finish last season came at a fall event, which is never a good sign. He also ended the season with only two top-10s. Simpson has a lot of potential, but considering we haven't seen much on the course since early 2009, he's probably not worth last year's number this year. Simpson is a fantastic putter, ranking in the top 25 in each of his first two seasons on the PGA TOUR.
Simpson was a rookie to watch heading into the 2009 PGA TOUR season; and after earning top-10s in each of his first two career starts, it appeared that Simpson was off to a fine inaugural season. A rough patch in the middle of the season derailed that those hopes, but Simpson managed to finish strong by recording three top-13s in his final six events. Simpson's potential is still there, and he will be a very valuable player in salary cap leagues in 2010 due to his lower finish on the money list last season.
