HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC – Webb Simpson celebrated another Father's Day victory, this time with a plaid coat instead of a United States Open trophy.
In A wild sprint to the finish after a three-hour storm delay, Simpson walked away five birdies in a six-hole stretch on back nine in Harbor Town and finished with a seven under 64 for a one-time win on Abraham Ancer.
Simpson won the US Open at Olympic Club in 2012. The US Open would end on Father's Day every year since 1976, but was moved to September this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The RBC Heritage filled the spot on the program, and Simpson, now the father of five, was the second winner this year with a record score in Harbor Town.
He didn't do much with so many low scores on a soft course with little wind. He finished 22-under 262, breaking Brian Gay's 2009 tournament record with two.
"It was a crazy day," said Simpson. "I only got it started at noon and then the putts started to go in and I started to get confidence. It's great to be here now."
Simpson, who won the Phoenix Open in February , reached number 5 in the world. He also reached the top of the FedEx Cup.
It was a tough second for Ancer, who tried to become the fifth consecutive RBC Heritage winner to achieve his first PGA Tour win in Harbor. City. He hit all 18 greens in regulation and tied the lead with a daring fairway metal over the trees to the par-5 15th that set up a two-well birdie. He also stayed in the game with a birdie on the 17th.
Ancer shot 65.
There was no Simpson to catch, whose only birdies on the par 5s were on the first nine until he couldn't miss. He rolled into 10-foot and 20-foot birdie putts on the 12th and 13th, two-putted for birdie on the 15th, and then sealed it with two more 15-foot and 18-foot birdies.
The recent colonial winner Daniel Berger also stayed in the mix by chipping for birdie on the 17th and finishing with a 65. Tyrrell Hatton, whose last tournament was his victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational , led to a bad tee shot led to a bogey on the 13th, and bogeys were hard to recover on this day. He shot 66 and was tied for third place.
Dylan Frittelli had the low score of a tournament packed with them, a 62 that put him ahead before the last groups even declined. Justin Thomas had a 63 and tied it. Both knew it wouldn't last, especially after returning from a storm delay to quiet and even milder conditions.
But it led to a carousel of contenders, and even Brooks Koepka got into the mix.
Koepka hit a driver on the nine hundred meter long 331 meter hole that ended up on the slope above the bunker and put three feet in front of his eagle. He birdied the next two to get in one of the lead, but his hopes ended with a 5-foot birdie putt that he missed on the par-5 15th. Koepka missed a few five-meter putts on the first nine.
He finished with a 65 and finished seventh, his best result since the Tour Championship.
"Six months off – three with the latch and then three on my knee – so yeah, it feels like it really was a long time since I even felt some juices flow," Koepka said. "It just felt nice to be in the fight."
Rory McIlroy finished with a 70 and finished 41st, his second straight result from the top 30 after having completed seven consecutive events worldwide with no finish worse than the fifth.
The PGA Tour is now going to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, and it is not yet known who will be playing until coronavirus tests are released to those on the charter flight.
The uncertainty stems from the first positive test – Nick Watney on Friday – along with 11 tests for those who had been in close contact with him. Those not on the charter will be tested on arrival in Connecticut. Any positive test means that a player must withdraw.