Q. Looks like this score could be even lower. What do you take away?
WEBB SIMPSON: I made a lot of nice putts. I hit tee balls really nice. I was in the fairway most of the day. Wasn't my sharpest day with my approach shots but I made a lot of nice putts. It was one of those rounds if I had shot 3-under it would have been very frustrating considering where I drove it but I was able to make a couple of nice putts coming in.
Q. Talking earlier in the week, you said your confidence right now is higher than it's ever been in your career, which is remarkable considering you've seven PGA TOUR victories including a major championship in 2012. When you get on old-school courses, you really seem to shine. Why is that?
WEBB SIMPSON: I think it's where I grew up. I grew up at Carolina Country Club in Raleigh, North Carolina, and it was short, doglegs, bermudarough. So I got used to needing to hit the fairway. It just brings me back home a little bit. So when I get on this golf course, I know I'm going to have short to mid-irons in most of the day and that's kind of my bread and butter.
Q. How would you characterize your round today?
WEBB SIMPSON: I drove it really nice and putted really nice. I feel like the shots I left out there were kind of my approach shots. I wasn't as sharp with those as I want to be but I kind of just played consistently all day and it was nice to get a couple birdies coming in.
Q. This wasn't on your schedule to begin with. Could you explain why you added it?
WEBB SIMPSON: Yeah, I mean, I love coming here. I don't miss many years, but if I were to play last week and get in when I was supposed to, it was going to be a long trip away from my wife and kids. I just thought it was best just to pick one and show back up in Phoenix.
Q. You play really well on courses like this, old-school, around 7,000 yards. Why is that?
WEBB SIMPSON: I love the opportunity to hit wedges and short irons into greens. I feel like that's always been a strength of mine. Even when I don't seem to play well, those still seem to be pretty sharp and I have a lot of those opportunities here. I love when fairways matter. This week, the rough isn't as long as normal but fairways still matter a lot.
Q. Still hard to hit the fairways? It's playing a lot firmer and faster than it has in the past, isn't it?
WEBB SIMPSON: It is. Last week was a little soft, so I was hoping we could see the ball bounce a little and getting some roll. They have it playing fantastic. I think all us golfers love it for the most part when we see a good drive and the ball bounce ten feet in the air, it's a good feeling.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports