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I didn’t pressure Padraig enough, admits Simpson

Webb Simpson equalled the Grand Slam record at Port Royal with his six-under par 65 to finish one shot behind eventual winner Padraig Harrington.The US Open winner was pleased with his final round charge but expressed disappointment at not being able to exert more pressure on the Irishman.“Padraig’s playing well and he made the putts you’ve got to make. I wish I could have putt a little more pressure on him,” said Webb.“I think the turning point for us was kind of the tenth hole through to 13 stretch. But I’m really encouraged with how I played today. Overall it was a good day, and you know, it’s been a great week.”Big-hitting Bubba Watson carded a topsy-turvy 71 to finish a distant third, level with fellow American Keegan Bradley (67).Watson, two strokes behind Harrington overnight, had hoped to claw back the Dubliner’s advantage but came undone at holes 15 and 16, where he made a bogey and double bogey.“You know, it was just a good day. I just got some loose swings trying to create some stuff when Padraig was playing so well,” said the Masters winner. “I got stuck in the tree and chose the wrong club on the par-three 16. I made a quick double bogey there and I was out of it. The next two holes were just about getting done and getting out of it.”Watson said he had been suffering from a stiff back yesterday but insisted his slight discomfort hadn’t had any bearing on his disappointing final round.“I’m fine, there’s no pain, it was just tight. We jet-skied yesterday and my main man, Fish, is not here to do any therapy, so it’s a little tight, so I couldn’t hit some shots that I wanted to hit, especially a full driver.“But there’s no pain, just tight, and after a couple of days rest it will be back to normal.”Bradley was left ruining his slow start to the Grand Slam and believed he could have challenged had he not dropped so many shots during the first round.He began the day six shots adrift of Harrington and, while never threatening a comeback, did manage to produce a far more consistent display yesterday.“Yeah, today obviously I got off to a better start,” said the winner of last year’s Slam. “I just wish yesterday, if I just got off to a decent start, I think I would have been right there. But Padraig played great.“It’s great to play alongside a champion like him and learn and see what he does. You know, I’m happy for him.”Bradley described the picturesque ocean view at the eighth hole as the one of most jaw dropping in all of golf.“When you’re on that green, you’d better take a look, because it’s pretty special,” he said. “I think that Padraig after he made his putt, he joked with us, ‘now I get to go watch the view.’“That view, no matter where you are in the tournament or how you’re playing, you kind of have to stop and look at it, because it’s as good of a view on a golf course as there is in the world.”The winner of last year’s PGA Championship, Bradley gained his spot in the field as the first alternate after Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy pulled out due to a scheduling conflict.McIlroy, who clinched his second major title by a staggering eight shots at this year’s PGA Championship, had already committed to the European Tour’s BMW Masters, being played this week in China.