Fred Couples
Fred Couples
Frederick Steven Couplesis an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. A former World No. 1, he has won 57 professional tournaments, most notably the 1992 Masters Tournament. In August 2011 he won his maiden senior major at the Senior Players Championship and followed this up in July 2012 when he won the Senior British Open Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013. Because of his long drives,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGolfer
Date of Birth3 October 1959
CitySeattle, WA
CountryUnited States of America
I thought the ball was going in the hole; someone said that was an early call. My thought was, 'Well, I think it's the only putt I made all week so I knew it was going in when it was four feet from the hole.' It looked good. It would have been embarrassing if it had lipped out.
Other than those few holes, I had a lot of birdie chances. To be five under, blow four strokes, then get five strokes back is a pretty good way to end the day.
If Tiger Woods hits four really good drives, or Vijay (Singh) or Davis (Love III) or Ernie Els, I don't know a course they don't have an advantage on. So you have to keep it in play.
When he comes to these tournaments, it really does wear him down. You walk around and have your name yelled at for four to five hours a day, every day, it wears you down. Literally, screaming your name all day, you just get worn out.
Fourteen made the difference for me. But really, the way Phil played, it wouldn't have made any difference.
It was the only putt I made all week and I knew it was going in four feet from the hole. It was thrilling, it was energetic and if I can use a fuzzy word, it was karma.
There were four great players starting out, ... Three of them played well, and I was mediocre. Some of the shortcomings with me came out in alternate shot, especially when you're playing with the best player in the world and trying your darnedest to do well.
I think it's set up for my game. It's set up for a lot of guys, but when I come here, I feel very good on the course. I feel like I'm a very good lag putter, and you have to do that here. My eye catches the slopes pretty well.
Last week, what he did was incredible. Then coming in here to shoot the scores that he did, extremely consistent on a very tough course. He's a much better player than he was when he first started winning these majors.
I saw a doctor and got some stuff, and today I didn't really hit many balls on the range. I kind of just screwed around. I love the course, and I figured no matter how bad I felt I could get around and have a decent score.
I thought if I could play with him and handle him, several guys would be excited about that. And then the putt on the 18th was thrilling. Career-wise, it doesn't mean anything. Team-wise, it was awesome.
I think I quieted down our talk there for about 10 minutes. I don't think he wanted to get near me.
You just can't miss putts and win tournaments, whether it's the Atlanta Classic or the Masters.
My putting was horrible but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I might have finished second to Phil, that's all.