WRAL Sports Fan

Golf

U.S. Open champ Simpson 'same person' to family

Jun 26, 2012

Raleigh, N.C. — Webb Simpson may travel the world as a professional golfer, but his roots are still in Raleigh. When he won his first major this month, no one was prouder than his family.

Simpson’s parents, Sam and Debbie, still live in Raleigh, as do three of his five siblings. Simpson’s sisters, Natalie Simpson and Blake Fricks, say their brother is sweet, good-natured and has a great sense of humor. They say that even though Webb, his wife and son live in Charlotte now, the family remains very close.

“He's still the same person he's always been,” said Fricks.

While the family has spread out a little bit as they have grown – the oldest, Camille Galloway lives in Winston-Salem; Sam lives in Greensboro and the youngest, Chase, remains in Raleigh – following Webb hasn’t been difficult. Gov. Bev Perdue recently said the Webb “is a North Carolinian through and through.”

“It’s fun, we're so proud of him,” added Natalie. “It doesn't get old to hear people talk about him.”

The family said always knew Webb would win a major tournament, just not this early on his career. At only 26 years old, Webb has three PGA Tour wins including the 2012 U.S. Open Championship.

“He worked so hard at it,” Fricks said. “He definitely had the natural talent, but it was like a job for him, after school, weekends.”

“We would go to tournaments when we were in middle school,” Natalie recalled. “We did not want to go, and they would take us and we would get back at 5 p.m. on a Sunday and he'd go out there and keep practicing.”

Abiding by his familial values, Webb has decided not to try for two majors in a row and will skip the British Open - for a very good reason. He and his wife are expecting their second child at the end of July and he wants to be there for the birth.

Simpson, a Broughton High School graduate, will be back in Raleigh Nov. 14 to play in a golf tournament benefiting "Neighbor to Neighbor." The non-profit works with at-risk youth in southeast Raleigh.
 

• Reporter: Renee Chou
• Web Editor: Aaron Schoonmaker