Newsmaker: Paul Simson, champion senior golfer
16 Jul 2011
by Golfweek
see also: , Paul Simson Profile
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- interview by Ron Balicki
Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. went where no
one has gone before in 2010 when he became
the only player to win the British, U.S. and
Canadian Senior Amateur in the same year.
Recently, the 60-year-old insurance executive
was in Rumford, Rhode Island for the Northeast
Amateur, where he tied for 34th against
players young enough to be his grandchildren.
Simson will be playing in the Senior Open
Championship July 21-24 at Walton Heath in
England.
How would you describe your year in 2010, and
what did it mean to you?
It's still something I can't believe happened. I
set high goals, but to set goals that high
would be humorous. To win all three of those
in a lifetime would be rare, bu to do it in one
year is pretty incredible.
What are your expectations for this
season?
I try to set reasonable goals. Obviously, I'd like
to defend my titles, for sure. But my big goals
are to play better at the British Senior Open
and U.S. Senior Open. I really haven't played
that well in those over the years, so I'd really
like to put four good rounds together and have
a strong showing.
All the success among seniors, and at the
Northeast Amateur you went up against all
these young collegians and juniors. How do
you keep up with them, and do you change
your game plan?
These young guys hit it 50, 60 yards ahead of
me, but they can go all over the place, so I
have a little advantage by keeping my ball in
position. There are so many really good young
players now, bu some are just learning to deal
with adversity. I still enjoy coming out and
playing against them.
How much longer will you keep competing
at this level?
Who knows? As long as I'm feeling good
healthwise and feel I'm competitive, we'll see. I
guess as long as I can beat more flat bellies
than can beat me, I'll keep going.