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Webb Simpson is one of several PGA golfers to switch to a belly putter this season. The use of a longer club on the greens has become quite the talk in golf journalism circles and in some cases considered to somewhat controversial for the supposed advantages it provides those who’ve made the switch.

Ironically for Simpson, it was his putter that let him down today on a short three-foot par shot that rimmed out on the second playoff hole. Instead, it was Simpson’s friend Ben Crane who took home the McGladrey Classic trophy this afternoon and now heads home to await the birth of he and his wife’s third child. It was Crane’s fourth win on the PGA Tour and his seventh overall victory as a professional.

For a recap of the event, check out the official story on the PGA website HERE.

Simpson still managed to come out ahead in one regard. He surpassed Luke Donald for first on the season’s money list and has a very solid shot of winning that coveted title pending he and Donald’s results in next week’s Children’s Miracle Hospital Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

I was particularly excited at the way the tournament finished since Simpson and Crane are both participants in a book I’m writing tentatively titled Life in the Fairway. This book (set to be published next year by New Leaf Publishing) will take a look at what we learn about integrity from the game of golf.

And there are few better examples of integrity than Simpson and Crane. I talked to Simpson last week for the book and interviewed Crane a few weeks earlier. Crane, along with Simpson and several others (i.e. Aaron Baddeley, Stewart Cink, Bernhard Langer, D.J. Brigman and Jonathan Byrd) have had some profound things to say about the topic.

“Golf teaches us that the more that we develop integrity in our lives, the more joy we’ll experience in life,” Crane told me. “We have nothing to be ashamed of. Because if we’re operating out of the truth, the truth will set us free.”

To read the post featuring my interview with Crane, click HERE.

And be watching for some of that interview with Simpson in the near future.