Fred Couples
Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament in 1992,[2] and the Players Championship in 1984 and 1996.[3][4][5] Couples became the oldest person to make the cut in the Masters Tournament history during the 2023 Tournament at 63 years, six months, and five days.
Fred Couples
Frederick Steven Couples
Boom Boom
October 3, 1959
Seattle, Washington
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
1980
64
15
3
14
1
33
Won: 1992
2nd: 1990
T3: 1991
2013 (member page)
2013 (member page)
In August 2011, Couples won his first senior major at the Senior Players Championship and followed this up in July 2012 when he won the Senior Open Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.[6] Couples garnered the nickname "Boom Boom" for his long, accurate driving ability off the tee during the prime of his career.
Early life[edit]
Couples was born in Seattle, Washington to Tom and Violet (née Sobich) Couples. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Italy and changed the family name from "Coppola" to "Couples" to make it sound less ethnic.[7] His mother was of Croatian descent.[8][9]
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,[10] where Couples developed his signature loose, rhythmic swing in order to gain enough distance to keep up with the older children. Couples admitted to being self-taught, never taking a lesson and never hiring a swing coach.
Couples attended O'Dea High School in Seattle and graduated in 1977.
Amateur career[edit]
In 1977, Couples accepted a golf scholarship to the University of Houston. 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.[11]
As a 19-year-old amateur, Couples beat PGA Tour veteran (and fellow Seattle native) Don Bies in a playoff to win the 1978 Washington Open at the Glendale Country Club in Bellevue.[12]
Professional career[edit]
PGA Tour[edit]
Couples's first PGA Tour victory came at the Kemper Open in 1983 at Congressional Country Club in suburban Washington, D.C.[13] Playing in the final group with Scott Simpson and Chen Tze-chung, the three finished over one hour after the previous group on the 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 hitting a wild tee shot.[14] On the second hole, Couples scored a birdie to take home the title.[13][15]
In addition to his Kemper Open win, Couples won another fourteen PGA Tour titles. Among them were two Players Championships (1984, 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 over $3.5 million 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 has nine top-10 finishes in the Open Championship, including tying for third in 1991 at Royal Birkdale, shooting a last round 64, and again tying for third in 2005 at St Andrews. In addition to his The Open Championship success Couples played well in many other international tournaments. He won two prestigious European Tour events, the Dubai Desert Classic and the Johnnie Walker Classic, in back-to-back weeks in 1995. He also finished runner-up in three European Tour events in his career: the 1989 BMW International Open, the 1994 Johnnie Walker Classic, and the 1997 Heineken Classic. He also finished runner-up on the Australasian Tour's 1988 Johnnie Walker Australian Classic, Japan Golf Tour's prestigious 1993 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament, and the Asian Tour's 2005 SK Telecom Open.
Since March 1994,[16] back injuries have affected Couples's career.[17] 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, 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, saying: "I'm always emotional when nice things happen to nice people."
In April 2006, Couples challenged at Augusta, making a Sunday run at what would have been his second green jacket before finally losing 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 46 years, 188 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's 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.
Personal life[edit]
Couples's marriage to his first wife Deborah ended in 1992. They had met as students at the University of Houston in 1979.[11][24] The divorce was finalized in 1993, and she later jumped to her death in May 2001. The Los Angeles City coroner's office ruled it a suicide.[25] Couples' estranged second wife, Thais Baker, died from breast cancer on February 17, 2009. They had married in 1998 and the union was childless. Couples married his long time girlfriend, Suzanne Hannemann, on February 22, 2022.
Couples currently resides in Newport Beach, California.
Couples, a self-proclaimed "sports junkie," is a member of the Seattle Seahawks 12th Man. He raised the 12th Man flag prior to the Seahawks Monday Night Football game against the New Orleans Saints on December 2, 2013.[26]
Couples is good friends with Michael Jordan and named him one of his assistant coaches when he coached the President's Cup in 2011.