} Timothy Jay Simpson (born May 6, 1956) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who has played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. T ...

, and currently plays on the

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

. Simpson was born and raised in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. He attended high school at

Woodward Academy Woodward Academy (also known as Woodward or WA) is an independent, co-educational college-preparatory school for pre-kindergarten to 12th grade on two campuses located in College Park and Johns Creek, Georgia, United States, within the Atlanta m ...

where he was the Atlanta Junior Champion, Georgia Junior Champion and Westlake National Junior Champion. He attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the st ...

, and was a member of the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

team. He left college early and turned professional at age 20. He earned his tour card at 21 years, 2 months. Simpson's first win in professional golf came at the 1981 Cacharel World Under-25 Championship in Nimes, France. His first PGA Tour win came three seasons later at the 1985 Southern Open. His career year was 1989 when he captured the PGA Tour's ''Comeback Player of the Year'' award, and won two Tour events: the

USF&G Classic The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly pla ...

and the

Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic The Walt Disney World Golf Classic was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The tournament was played on the Palm and Magnolia courses at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was played under several names, reflecting sponsorship changes. The ...

. He had another good year in 1990: repeating as Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic Champion, and posting his best finishes in the U.S. Open,

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. Simson was awarded the 1990 ''Georgia Professional Athlete of the Year'' award. He has 66 Top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events. Simpson's PGA Tour career was brought to a sudden end due to his contracting

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the '' Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus '' Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema ...

on a hunting trip in 1991, and the neurological pathological condition resulting from it. He has had brain surgery and spinal fusion surgery. In his late thirties and forties, his health improved enough to allow him to play some on the

. His best finishes in this venue were a 2nd at the 1995 NIKE Buffalo Open and a T-2 at the 1995 NIKE South Carolina Classic. During his career Simpson was called one of the greatest ball strikers in the game's history by golfing greats Butch Harmon,

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. He won 117 professional tou ...

, and

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

. Early in his career, he was mentored by long-time friends,

Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for the better part of four ...

and J. C. Snead. Simpson was inducted into the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is located in Macon, Georgia. It is the largest state sports hall of fame in the United States at . Exhibitions The Hall of Fame houses over of exhibit space broken down into sections including Hall of Fame Ind ...

in 2004, and the

Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 2006. He began play on the

in 2006. He lives in

Greensboro, Georgia Greensboro is a town in and the county seat of Greene County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,648 as of the 2020 census. The city is located approximately halfway between Atlanta and Augusta on Interstate 20. History Greensboro was ...

with his wife Leigh Ann and their four children.

Amateur wins

*1975 Palmetto Invitational College Tournament *1976

Southern Amateur The Southern Amateur is an amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1902 and is organized by the Southern Golf Association. From 1902 to 1963, it was played at match play. Since 1964, it has been played at stroke play. In December 2021, ...

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Other wins (5)

*1980

Georgia Open The Georgia Open is the Georgia (USA) state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Georgia section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1954 at a variety of courses around t ...

(tie with

Bob Tway Robert Raymond Tway IV (born May 4, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including eight PGA Tour victories. He spent 25 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986–87. Early life Tway was ...

) *1981

, Cacharel World Under-25 Championship *1984

*1987

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1983 U.S. Open – 1985 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

U.S. national team appearances

Four Tours World Championship The Four Tours World Championship was an annual professional golf tournament that was played from 1985 to 1991. It was played between teams representing the four main professional tours: the American PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour, the PGA Tour of ...

: 1990

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Tim American male golfers Georgia Bulldogs men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Atlanta Woodward Academy alumni People from Greensboro, Georgia 1956 births Living people