PGA Tour Player-Director Webb Simpson has defended his latest invite to a Signature Event after he was provided with a spot at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship via a fourth sponsor’s exemption of the season.
The World No.227 has already taken part in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the RBC Heritage this season – finishing between T30 and T42 in the $20 million limited-field events with increased FedEx Cup and OWGR points on the line.
He has also made the cut in all three of his regular PGA Tour appearances this term, but missed out on playing the weekend at The Players Championship in March.
Yet, some players not in the sub-70-man fields were unhappy that tournaments which offer such rich rewards should regularly include those comfortably outside the world’s top-100.
Dylan Wu, in particular, was frustrated at Simpson’s fourth invite due to the fact that the 2012 US Open champion is a current member of the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. Wu called the decision to continually invite the likes of Simpson into the top events “suspect.”
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Commenting on Adam Scott‘s third-straight invitation into a Signature Event and Simpson’s second prior to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Wu said: “Great players and major champions. I can’t say much because I missed the cut hard this week but getting more than one sponsor exemption into elevated events doesn’t seem fair.
“Seems like if you’re a player director, you’ll get an invite into an elevated event,” he added. “Seems suspect…
“And trust me, they’re both great players that probably deserve it but this new model is all about meritocracy,” Wu explained. “Sponsor exemptions going to the same players every elevated event doesn’t seem to follow the “play better” saying. Seems like “be more famous” or “know the right people.”
In response, Simpson – who is a Quail Hollow resident and will enjoy the closest of home games this week – spoke at length about the subject in his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.
He said: “Well, I’m not a very active social media user, so y’all probably see a lot more criticisms than I do. Look, it’s a different day and age now than it was. I know these sponsor exemptions are probably the most coveted sponsor…
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