Sam Simpson, father of U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, dies at 74

Funeral services for Sam Simpson, the father of former U.S. Open golf champion Webb Simpson, will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Raleigh’s White Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Simpson died Sunday in Raleigh of Lewy body dementia (LBD), which has Parkinson’s disease-type symptoms. He was 74.

A native of Sampson County, Evander Samuel Simpson III was a longtime Raleigh resident and real-estate executive. A golf enthusiast, he helped Webb get started in the sport at Carolina Country Club and later proved to be a good matchmaker, setting up Webb’s first date with his wife-to-be, Dowd.

When Sam recently became gravely ill, Webb Simpson withdrew from the RSM Classic, a PGA Tour event. He announced the decision on Twitter, saying his father was “living his last days.”

Webb Simpson, 32, is the fifth of Sam Simpson’s six children. After leading Broughton High to state championships, Webb attended Wake Forest on the Arnold Palmer Scholarship and won the U.S. Open in 2012 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

“He did not inherit any talent,” Sam Simpson said in a 2012 interview with Walter Magazine. “His hard work is what did it. His hard work did it for him, and his love of the game.”

The way the story is told, before Webb Simpson’s freshman year at Wake Forest, his father met Dowd at a party and learned she was a rising sophomore at Wake Forest. He suggested a date with his son, which was arranged by a friend, and the two later were married.

Webb Simpson and his family live in Charlotte.

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Sam Simpson, father of U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, dies at 74."