Fred Couples

Fred Couples
Fred Couples
Personal information
Full name Frederick Steven Couples
Born October 3, 1959 (1959-10-03) (age 52)
Seattle, Washington
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Palm Springs, California
Spouse Thais Baker (died 2009)
Career
College University of Houston
Turned professional 1980
Current tour(s) PGA Tour (joined 1982)
Champions Tour (joined 2010)
Professional wins 53
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 15
European Tour 3
Champions Tour 6
Other 30
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament Won: 1992
U.S. Open T3: 1991
The Open Championship T3: 1991, 2005
PGA Championship 2nd: 1990
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Player of the Year
1991, 1992
PGA Player of the Year 1992
Vardon Trophy 1991, 1992
Byron Nelson Award 1991, 1992
PGA Tour
leading money winner
1992
Byron Nelson Award
(Champions Tour)
2010

Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who competes on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. A former World No. 1, he has won numerous events, most notably the 1992 Masters Tournament.[1] In August 2011 he won his maiden senior major at the Senior Players Championship. Because of his long drives, Couples has been given the nickname "Boom Boom".

Contents

Early years and education

Couples was born in Seattle, Washington, to Tom and Violet (Sobich) Couples. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Italy and changed the family name from "Coppola" to "Couples" to make it sound less ethnic.[2] His mother is of Croatian descent.[3] His father was a groundskeeper for the Seattle Parks Department and the family, which included brother Tom, Jr., and sister Cindy, lived in a modest house on Beacon Hill near the city's Jefferson Park golf course, where Couples developed his signature loose, rhythmic swing in order to gain enough distance to keep up with the older children.

Couples attended O'Dea High School in Seattle and the University of Houston, where, as a member of the Houston Cougars men's golf team. He roomed with Blaine McCallister, another future PGA Tour player, and future CBS television broadcaster Jim Nantz.

Professional career

PGA Tour

Couples' first PGA Tour victory came at the 1983 Kemper Open. Playing in the final group, along with Scott Simpson, and T.C. Chen the three golfers finished over one hour later than the previous group on the golf course. In spite of rounds of 77, 76, and 77 Couples, Simpson, and Chen finished tied for first along with Gil Morgan and Barry Jaeckel who had finished their rounds several hours earlier. Jaeckel, who spent time in a bar waiting for regulation play to conclude, was eliminated on the first playoff hole after he hits a wild tee shot.[4] On the second hole, Couples scored a birdie to take home the title.[5]

In addition to his Kemper Open win, Couples won another fourteen PGA Tour titles. Among them were two Players Championships (in 1984 and 1996) and one major victory, the 1992 Masters Tournament.

Couples was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year twice, in 1991 and 1992. He also won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in each of those years. He has been named to the United States Ryder Cup team five times, in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997.

In 1992, Couples became the first American player to reach the number one position in the Official World Golf Rankings (since the World Ranking points system debuted in April 1986). He spent 16 weeks at number 1, after one of the hottest ever starts to a season by a PGA Tour player. Beginning with the Nissan Los Angeles Open, where he defeated Davis Love III in a playoff, Couples won two tournaments and finished second in two others in the five weeks leading up to The Masters. At Augusta, Couples carried over his momentum, shooting in the 60s in each of the first three rounds to hold second place heading into Sunday. After a shaky start to his final round that allowed 49-year-old Raymond Floyd to claim the lead, Couples took it back with 18- and 20-foot birdie putts at the 8th and 9th holes, respectively, then saved par on a slick 6-footer at 10. At 12 (perhaps the scariest par-3 in the world), Couples barely cleared Rae's Creek in front of the green. Although his ball rolled back towards the water, it incredibly remained on the bank and he saved par. Sensing that destiny was on his side, Couples held off Floyd the rest of the way, completing Augusta's treacherous back nine with eight pars and one birdie to win his first Major. The win pushed Couples past the $1 million mark in earnings on the season as well, by far the fastest any player had reached that plateau.

Couples is sometimes called "Mr. Skins" because of his dominance in the Skins Game. He has won the event five times (in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2004), accumulating US$3,515,000 and 77 skins in 11 appearances. Because of his dominance at the Skins and other off-season events like the Johnnie Walker World Golf Championship, Couples is also known as the "King of the Silly Season," referring to the exotic made-for-TV events staged in the winter that are better known as the "silly season". Couples was frequently accused of "choking" in his early career, with mistakes in the 1989 Ryder Cup and the 1990 PGA Championship at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club often mentioned.

Couples is a frequent visitor to the UK, and has an excellent record in the Open Championship, where he has finished several times in the top ten. His best places are tied 3rd in 1991 at Royal Birkdale -shooting a last round 64, and tied 3rd in 2005 at St Andrews. He completed his first visit to St Andrews in 1984 on a spectacular high by holing his approach at 18 for an eagle on the final day.

Back problems have, at least in part, truncated Couples' career. His swing features an extreme shoulder turn at the top, which, combined with the fact that he keeps his left foot flat on the ground throughout the backswing, puts a lot of pressure on his lower back. However, with an abbreviated schedule and a little help from swing coach Butch Harmon, Couples is still one of the best players on Tour. In 2003, at age 44, Couples finished 34th on the PGA Tour money list. That year he also won the Shell Houston Open, his first win in five years; Couples wept with joy after the win, but quickly explained the tears: "I'm always emotional when nice things happen to nice people," he quipped.

In April 2006, Couples challenged at Augusta, making a Sunday run at what would have been his second green jacket before finally bowing out to eventual winner Phil Mickelson, with whom he was paired in the final round. Had Couples won, he would have been the oldest player ever to win the Masters at age &1000000000000004600000046 years, &10000000000000188000000188 days—supplanting Jack Nicklaus, who, coincidentally, won his final Masters 20 years earlier and also at the age of 46. His competitiveness in the tournament was an encouraging sign for his career. "I didn't hit the ball like I was 46," Couples said.

Couples' part in the USA 1993 Dunhill Cup win included victory in all five of his matches, and his overall record reads: played 16, won 12, lost 4. In 2004, Couples won the Dunhill Links Championship Team Event at St Andrews, partnered by New Zealand amateur Craig Heatley.

In 2005 Couples sank a crucial putt in the Presidents Cup, securing an unlikely 1-up victory over the International team's best player, Vijay Singh. This match proved to be pivotal in the contest. Couples has now played Singh three times in Presidents Cup match play, and has yet to lose.

Fred Couples at the 2009 Telus World Skins Game in Lévis, Canada

Couples was sidelined for virtually the entire 2007 season because of health problems. However, he did compete in the 2007 Masters, making the cut for the 23rd consecutive time, tying the record held by Gary Player. Couples missed the cut in 2008 and 2009.

In 2009, Couples limited his play but performed impressively at the Northern Trust Open. If it wasn't for Phil Mickelson shooting a 62 on that Saturday, Couples may have won instead of finishing third. He nearly won the Shell Houston Open but bogeyed the last three holes and finished third behind Paul Casey. He also played well at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (T8) and the AT&T National (T11) tournaments. He hurt his back practicing for the RBC Canadian Open and had to withdraw. But he rested and recovered and made the cut for the 2009 PGA Championship (T36) and performed successfully in the Wyndham Championship (T5) which put him past the $1,000,000 mark on the money list for the 7th time in his career.

Couples was named as 2009 Presidents Cup captain for the United States team on February 26, 2008 and led the Untited States team to a decisive victory.

Champions Tour

Couples made his debut on the Champions Tour at the opening event of the 2010 season, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii.[6] He nearly won the tournament, finishing second to Tom Watson. Couples later stated, "I had a wonderful time. I think I was 21 under par and didn't win a tournament. That hasn't happened too many times." Had he won, he would have become the 16th player to win his Champions Tour debut. He won his next three starts, The ACE Group Classic, the Toshiba Classic and the Cap Cana Championship, becoming the first player in Champions Tour history to win three of his first four career events. Couples made another run at the 2010 Masters Tournament but finished 6th. It was his 26th top ten finish in a major tournament. A second place finish in the Senior PGA Championship was a disappointment for him. But an even greater disappointment was losing the U.S. Senior Open to Bernhard Langer. Couples had a 1 shot lead after 55 holes, but disaster struck on the par 5 2nd. He decided to lay up rather than going for the green. His lay up shot was effective, but his 3rd shot landed in the water. After dropping 4, his 5th shot was driven over the green. He was on in 6 but finished the hole with a triple bogey; his 1 shot lead became a 3 shot deficit. He played solidly the rest of the round, but couldn't catch up to Langer. He was very disappointed for letting down his hometown fans who cheered for him every step of the way. He earned a 4th win at the Administaff Small Business Classic. On Sunday, he was grouped with Corey Pavin and Mark Wiebe and soared past them and the rest of the field shooting a 9 under 63, with 29 on the back nine. Couples won the Champions Tour Rookie of the Year award in 2010.

Couples was sidelined once again for most of the 2011 season because of his stubborn back problems. But after receiving treatment in Germany, he was able to come back. He won his first major tournament on the senior circuit by defeating John Cook, on the third hole of a sudden death play-off, capturing the Senior Players Championship.

Other ventures

Couples co-designs golf courses with his design partner, Gene D. Bates. This venture, beginning in 1992 has resulted in the formation of Couples Bates Golf Design firm, and over 20 award winning championship golf courses worldwide.[citation needed]

Personal

Couples' marriage to his first wife Deborah ended in 1992. They had met as students at the University of Houston in 1979. The divorce was finalized in 1993, and she later fell to her death in May 2001, ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles City coroner's office.[7]

Couples' estranged wife, Thais Baker, died from breast cancer on February 17, 2009. They had married in 1998 and the union was childless.

Couples currently resides in Palm Springs, California.

Trivia

  • Couples enjoys a reputation for being one of the most laid-back, easygoing players on the PGA Tour. His best friend on Tour, Davis Love III, confirms this: "Everybody thinks Fred's relaxed on the golf course, but he's more tense on the golf course than anywhere. He's a relaxed guy."
  • Couples is an avid gardener. Couples learned gardening from his grandfather, who was a groundskeeper at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
  • Inducted into the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
  • Couples is one of few professional golfers who does not use a glove at any time.
  • Couples is a good friend of Michael Jordan and a season ticket holder for the Charlotte Bobcats, where Jordan is the majority owner.

Professional wins (53)

PGA Tour wins (15)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (14)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin
of victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 5, 1983 Kemper Open -1 (71–71–68–77=287) Playoff Republic of China T.C. Chen, United States Barry Jaeckel,
United States Gil Morgan, United States Scott Simpson
2 Apr 1, 1984 Tournament Players Championship -11 (71–64–71–71=277) 1 stroke United States Lee Trevino
3 May 10, 1987 Byron Nelson Golf Classic -14 (65–67–64–70=266) Playoff United States Mark Calcavecchia
4 Feb 25, 1990 Nissan Los Angeles Open -18 (68–67–62–69=266) 3 strokes United States Gil Morgan
5 Jun 27, 1991 Federal Express St. Jude Classic -11 (68–67–66–68=269) 3 strokes United States Rick Fehr
6 Sep 22, 1991 B.C. Open -15 (66–67–68–68=269) 3 strokes United States Peter Jacobsen
7 Mar 1, 1992 Nissan Los Angeles Open -15 (68–67–64–70=269) Playoff United States Davis Love III
8 Mar 22, 1992 Nestle Invitational -19 (67–69–63–70=269) 9 strokes United States Gene Sauers
9 Apr 12, 1992 Masters Tournament -13 (69–67–69–70=275) 2 strokes United States Raymond Floyd
10 Mar, 12 1993 Honda Classic* -3 (64–73–70=207) Playoff United States Robert Gamez
11 Aug 7, 1994 Buick Open -18 (72–65–65–68=270) 6 strokes United States Greg Kraft, United States Steve Pate,
United States Curtis Strange
12 Mar 31, 1996 The Players Championship -18 (66–72–68–64=270) 4 strokes Scotland Colin Montgomerie, United States Tommy Tolles
13 Jan 18, 1998 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic -28 (64–70–66–66–66=332) Playoff United States Bruce Lietzke
14 May 31, 1998 Memorial Tournament -17 (68–67–67–69=271) 4 strokes United States Andrew Magee
15 Apr 27, 2003 Shell Houston Open -21 (65–68–67–67=267) 4 strokes Australia Stuart Appleby, United States Mark Calcavecchia,
United States Hank Kuehne

*Note: The 1993 Honda Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to inclement weather

European Tour wins (3)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin
of victory
Runner-up
1 Apr 12, 1992 Masters Tournament -13 (69–67–69–70=275) 2 strokes United States Raymond Floyd
1 Jan 22, 1995 Dubai Desert Classic -20 (65-69-68-66=268) 3 strokes Scotland Colin Montgomerie
2 Jan 29, 1995 Johnnie Walker Classic -11 (72-67-67-71=277) 2 strokes Zimbabwe Nick Price

Other wins (30)

Champions Tour wins (6)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin
of victory
Runner-up
1 Feb 14, 2010 The ACE Group Classic -17 (68–67–64=199) 1 stroke United States Tommy Armour III
2 Mar 7, 2010 Toshiba Classic -18 (66–64–65=195) 4 strokes United States Ronnie Black
3 Mar 28, 2010 Cap Cana Championship -21 (67–66–62=195) 2 strokes United States Corey Pavin
4 Oct 24, 2010 Administaff Small Business Classic -17 (71–65–63=199) 7 strokes United States Mark Wiebe
5 Aug 20, 2011 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship -11 (68–66–68-61=273) Playoff United States John Cook
6 Oct 16, 2011 AT&T Championship -23 (65-62-66=193) 7 strokes United States Mark Calcavecchia

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin
of victory
Runner-up
1992 Masters Tournament 1 shot deficit −13 (69–67–69–70=275) 2 strokes United States Raymond Floyd

Results timeline

Tournament 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP T32 10 T10 T31 DNP T5 T11
U.S. Open T48 LA DNP DNP CUT CUT T9 T39 DNP T46 T10 T21
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T4 DNP T46 T40 T4 T6
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T3 T23 T20 T6 T36 CUT CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters 5 T35 1 T21 DNP T10 T15 T7 T2 T27
U.S. Open CUT T3 T17 T16 T16 CUT DNP T52 T53 CUT
The Open Championship T25 T3 CUT T9 DNP DNP T7 T7 T66 DNP
PGA Championship 2 T27 T21 T31 T39 T31 T41 T29 T13 T26
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Masters T11 26 T36 T28 T6 T39 T3 T30 CUT CUT
U.S. Open T16 CUT DNP T66 CUT T15 T48 DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship 6 CUT DNP T46 DNP T3 CUT DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship CUT T37 DNP T34 DNP T70 CUT DNP CUT T36
Tournament 2010 2011
The Masters 6 T15
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP

LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

  • Starts – 87
  • Wins – 1
  • 2nd place finishes – 2
  • Top 3 finishes – 8
  • Top 5 finishes – 12
  • Top 10 finishes – 26
  • Longest streak of top-10s in majors – 3 (twice)

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin
of victory
Runner-up
2011 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship 1 shot lead -11 (68-66-68-71=273) Playoff 1 United States John Cook

1 Defeated John Cook in sudden-death playoff with birdie on the third extra hole.

Senior results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2011.

Tournament 2010 2011
The Tradition DNP T63
Senior PGA Championship T2 DNP
The Senior Open Championship DNP DNP
U.S. Senior Open 2 DNP
Senior Players Championship WD 1

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fred Couples — Personalia Nationalität: Vereinigte Staaten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fred Couples — Fred Couples …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fred Couples Golf — Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples Éditeur Sega Développeur Flashpoint Productions Date de sortie 1994 Genre Sport (golf) Mode de jeu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Golf Magazine : 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples — Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples Éditeur Sega Développeur Flashpoint Productions Date de sortie 1994 Genre Sport (golf) Mode de jeu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Golf Magazine Presents 36 Greatest Holes of Golf Starring Fred Couples — Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples Éditeur Sega Développeur Flashpoint Productions Date de sortie 1994 Genre Sport (golf) Mode de jeu …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Golf Magazine: 36 Great Holes Starring Fred Couples — Éditeur Sega Développeur Flashpoint Productions Date de sortie 1994 Genre Sport (golf) Mode de jeu Un à …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Couples — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Fred Couples (* 1959), US amerikanischer Profigolfer Couples ist der englische Originaltitel eines Romans von John Updike, siehe Ehepaare Diese Seite ist eine …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fred Karlin — (June 16, 1936 March 26, 2004) was an Oscar winning American composer of more than one hundred scores for feature films and television movies. He also was an accomplished trumpeter adept at playing jazz, blues, classical, rock, and medieval music …   Wikipedia

  • Fred Karlin — Données clés Naissance 16 juin 1936 Chicago,  États Unis Nationalité …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Fred Wilson (politician) — Fred Wilson is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Bob Rae.Wilson was elected to the Ontario… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”