Arnold Palmer has one way to settle any debate about this season's PGA Tour player of the year.
"I'd make Bill (Haas) and Webb (Simpson) co-players of the year," Palmer, 82, said Monday during the Wake Forest pro-am at Old Town Club. "Of course, I'm a little biased toward the Wake guys. But they are both great guys, and I'm so happy to see them doing so well."
Haas and Simpson have dominated recent golf headlines and are in contention for the top honor, which will be selected by PGA Tour players.
"It's a tough pick with the closeness of the race, with Bill and Webb both doing so well," Palmer said. "At least there are two Wake Forest guys in the conversation, and that's great to see."
Also in the conversation are Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley, but Monday, the talk was about the former Deacons.
Haas and Simpson finished 1-2 in FedEx Cup points, and Simpson leads Donald by $363,029 in the race for the PGA Tour money title heading into this week's final tour stop in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
"I think when you think about that and look at it, that's pretty amazing," Haas said. "To have the only two Wake guys (on tour) finishing first and second in the FedEx Cup, it just makes Webb and I very proud to be Demon Deacons."
Simpson and Haas each won one of the four FedEx Cup tournaments. Haas, 29, also won the Tour Championship to take the FedEx Cup title and the $10 million purse.
Simpson, 26, was a little bleary-eyed Monday morning after driving in from Sea Island, Ga., where he lost to Ben Crane in a playoff Sunday evening at the McGladrey Classic. However, he said making the extra effort to play in the pro-am was an easy decision.
"I wanted to be here," he said. "As much as coach (Jerry) Haas and Wake Forest meant to me, it's just something small I can do to help to pay them back. It's an honor to be here…."
The pro-am brings former Wake Forest golfers together to raise money for the school's golf programs, with amateurs paying $2,500 each to play.
The highlight of the weekend was naming the state-of-the-art practice facility on campus for Palmer. That was done Sunday night at a dinner at Old Town.
"It's been my life in a way," Palmer said of Wake Forest, the school he attended in the late 1940s and early 1950s. "A lot of the things that have happened in my life started right here at Wake Forest."
Palmer doesn't play much golf in public these days, but he shook hands, signed autographs and re-told stories. Also taking part in the pro-am were former Wake Forest golfers Jay Haas, Scott Hoch, Robert Wrenn, Billy Andrade, Kyle Reifers and Laura Diaz, former basketball players Chris Paul and Randolph Childress and former football player Riley Skinner.
Haas and Simpson, who never played together at Wake Forest, will be teammates for the first time during next month's President's Cup competition in Australia.
"It's going to be fun," Simpson said. "I was pulling for Bill to make that team, and I knew it would be important for him … especially with his dad (Jay) the assistant captain, so I'm excited."
Each said he wouldn't mind being paired with the other for President's Cup matches. Captain Fred Couples might not be as eager to pair two rookies.
"There's definitely a chance," Haas said. "There are only so many combinations, and I think that would be a good pairing. I've talked to my dad a little bit, and I told him I'd love to play with Webb, so we'll see what happens."
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