CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Heading into this week's Wells Fargo Championship, Adam Scott and Webb Simpson shed light on the state of their games, the upcoming U.S. Open venue and golf's new young talent.
Simpson lives less than a mile from the course in Charlotte. Scott is returning to Quail Hollow for the first time since 2010. Both major champions seem confident in the way their games are progressing.
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Here are some of Scott's and Simpson's comments on various topics:
Wells Fargo Championship
Although Scott hasn't played at this PGA Tour event the past four years, he was optimistic about the setup and the overall improvement of his game.
"Everything in my game is in good shape, I just haven't had some of the results I'd like," Scott said. "It comes down to just not putting everything together at the moment. However, there are signs of everything coming into shape. I'm excited about turning it around and getting the results here soon.
"I've made some technical changes to my clubs recently, which is something I haven't done much in the past, and now that that's settled, I need to go back and focus on what I'd done over the last four years.
"This course, is very much like the great courses around the world, really, where when you play well you get rewarded and if you're not quite on your game it can be a real challenge to get around the course with a good score."
Simpson was happy with the tournament being pushed back two weeks and the way the new grass has taken hold.
"It's great to be back," Simpson said. "I think the course has really appreciated the extra couple weeks. The course is beautiful, and the greens are running super fast. Even if this place wasn't my home I'd still have this as one of my top courses.
"There's a lot of excitement this week with good players such as Adam, Rory [McIlroy] and Phil [Mickelson] in the event, and a bunch of other good players. It's going to be a great week."
U.S. Open (Chambers Bay, Tacoma, Wash.)
There has been a lot of talk about the difficulty of Chambers Bay and the necessity to play the site of the 2015 U.S. Open multiple times to get a feel for its hilly fairways and variant sloping.
Scott, like many other pros, plans on getting there ahead of the June 18-21 tournament to get comfortable.
"Right now, I plan on getting to Chambers [Bay] significantly before the tournament starts," Scott said. "From all reports, it looks like something quite unique and even hearing Mike Davis' comments that a person unfamiliar with the course will have no chance of winning, shows me you're certainly going to have to get a few rounds in beforehand.
"I'm hoping that this week and next week, which I plan to play, will set me up for a big summer. I feel like my game is building momentum, now, after not having so much for a little while. The ship is steadying."
Davis is executive director of the United States Golf Association and oversees the U.S. Open course setup.
On Monday, Davis told Golf Digest recently about Chambers Bay: "One of the things that's unique to this is the architects put in what they refer to it as ribbon tees, these tees that just kind of meander. And it allows us to put tee markers where we want. And in some cases we may end up putting tee markers on slight slopes as opposed to you think, well, you're always going to have teeing markers on very flat areas. But there may be some where we give the players a little downhill slope, a little uphill slope, a side slope. So that's interesting." http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2015/04/us-open-chambers-bay-uneven-lies-tee-shots.html
Simpson, on the other hand, isn't scared by the warnings about Chambers Bay.
"I can't get out there [before the tournament], so I guess I'll be playing for second," Simpson joked in regards to Davis' comments. "I love playing in the FedEx St. Jude [the week before the U.S. Open], and I'd rather play that event than get out there early.
"It's not easy getting out there from the east coast."
Next gen
Golf's next generation has taken the world by storm, and Scott was once a part of a budding crew that included Justin Rose, Geoff Ogilvy and Sergio Garcia. He talked about younger players, and Jordan Spieth in particular.
"I think we're getting to see the next generation of great golfers at a really good time," Scott said. "There's never a bad time, but I think these guys will push each other, which is good for the game.
"Guys like Jordan are so young. I've said it before, but their window is now, and he should push as hard as he can. Some guys are lucky enough to have 20-year careers and play good for that long, and other people don't.
"He could be in the prime of his career right now, so he should make the most of it."
Simpson agreed that the players in this latest young group seem to feed off one another.
"I think this group is different," Simpson said. "I think they're just a little more fiery competitors. They seem to love the big moment and being in contention on Sunday.
"My first two years I had my eyes wide open just trying to take it all in, but these guys are already going out trying to win majors, and succeeding."