Latest news with #Couples'
USA Today
12-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short Fred Couples' goal these days in the Masters Tournament is to make the cut. He made a gallant effort to break his own record for oldest to do so on Friday, but faded down the stretch at Augusta National Golf Club. After what he called a 'mediocre' round of 5-over-par 77, Couples came up two shots shy of making the weekend. He shot 3-over 39 on the back nine when 37 would have been good enough. He made bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 18. He needed to birdie No. 18 but fanned his drive into the magnolias and ended up missing a 9-footer for par. 'It was not awful,' Couples said. 'I could have shot 73 and I could have shot 80. How about that? And I kind of shot right in between because I made a couple putts. But I'm not upset about anything. I tried as hard as I could, and let me tell you, it's a hard course.' Now 65, Couples holds the record for oldest to make a cut, at age 63 in 2023. Bernhard Langer, 67, took a shot at it this week, but missed a 11-foot par putt on No. 18 and missed the cut by a shot in his final Masters. After what Couples called 'a very fun' day on Thursday, when he shot 71, Friday was the polar opposite. The difference was on the greens. He went from 23 putts (second-best in the field) to 31 on Friday. The bogey on the par-5 15th hole was a killer. He snap-hooked his drive into the trees on the left and ended up missing a 11-foot putt for par. That drive went only 146 yards once it stopped rattling around the trees. Couples called it 'the worst drive I've hit in 20 years. I don't even know what happened.' This was Couples' 40th Masters, but it won't be his last. 'Well, sure, I'm playing next year for sure, yeah. I made that - (Masters officials) made that clear they wanted me to come back, so I'm coming back next year,' he said. 'The Masters is the greatest tournament of all time. It's just so unique. 'You know what stays the same is the patrons, the people who come out and watch,' Couples added. 'There's 30,000 of them every day we play. The egg salad sandwiches I think are still $2 (even cheaper, at $1.50). That's my favorite sandwich. The greens are still lightning fast and they're going to get them rock hard tomorrow.' David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short
'I'm not upset about anything': Couples' chance to extend Masters record comes up short Fred Couples' goal these days in the Masters Tournament is to make the cut. He made a gallant effort to break his own record for oldest to do so on Friday, but faded down the stretch at Augusta National Golf Club. After what he called a 'mediocre' round of 5-over-par 77, Couples came up two shots shy of making the weekend. He shot 3-over 39 on the back nine when 37 would have been good enough. He made bogeys on Nos. 14, 15 and 18. Advertisement He needed to birdie No. 18 but fanned his drive into the magnolias and ended up missing a 9-footer for par. 'It was not awful,' Couples said. 'I could have shot 73 and I could have shot 80. How about that? And I kind of shot right in between because I made a couple putts. But I'm not upset about anything. I tried as hard as I could, and let me tell you, it's a hard course.' Now 65, Couples holds the record for oldest to make a cut, at age 63 in 2023. Bernhard Langer, 67, took a shot at it this week, but missed a 11-foot par putt on No. 18 and missed the cut by a shot in his final Masters. After what Couples called 'a very fun' day on Thursday, when he shot 71, Friday was the polar opposite. The difference was on the greens. He went from 23 putts (second-best in the field) to 31 on Friday. Advertisement The bogey on the par-5 15th hole was a killer. He snap-hooked his drive into the trees on the left and ended up missing a 11-foot putt for par. That drive went only 146 yards once it stopped rattling around the trees. Couples called it 'the worst drive I've hit in 20 years. I don't even know what happened.' Fred Couples waves to the crowd walking off the first green Friday at the Masters. This was Couples' 40th Masters, but it won't be his last. 'Well, sure, I'm playing next year for sure, yeah. I made that - (Masters officials) made that clear they wanted me to come back, so I'm coming back next year,' he said. 'The Masters is the greatest tournament of all time. It's just so unique. Advertisement 'You know what stays the same is the patrons, the people who come out and watch,' Couples added. 'There's 30,000 of them every day we play. The egg salad sandwiches I think are still $2 (even cheaper, at $1.50). That's my favorite sandwich. The greens are still lightning fast and they're going to get them rock hard tomorrow.' David Westin is a recipient of the Masters Major Achievement Award and has covered every tournament at Augusta National Golf Club since 1979 for The Augusta Chronicle. He also caddied at the club for a time. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fred Couples' magical Masters Thursday comes back to reality in Round 2
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brooks Koepka doesn't deny rumors that he's looking to return to PGA Tour
Could one of LIV Golf's most notable stars be laying the groundwork for a return to the PGA Tour? He's not saying no. , Brooks Koepka, five-time major winner and the most decorated player of his generation, has always kept LIV at something of an arm's length. Where fellow stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson have wholeheartedly embraced the LIV ethos, sporting their team logos at every opportunity, Koepka has always been more muted in his LIV fandom. Case in point: His response when asked about his future with the Saudi-backed golf league. Prior to LIV's Hong Kong event, Koepka was asked about recent comments by Fred Couples that seemed to indicate he was interested in a return to the PGA Tour. (Couples' comments provoked a fiery, and quickly-deleted, social media reaction from Mickelson.) Koepka didn't exactly shower LIV with love in his response. "I've got a contract obligation out here to fulfill," Koepka said, "and then we'll see what happens." As statements of loyalty go, that isn't exactly ride-or-die. Couples made waves when he told a radio show that Koepka "wants to come back. I will say that I believe he really wants to come back and play the Tour." That provoked Mickelson to declare, 'If it's not true he damaged a relationship which he cares about. If it is true he took away Brook's [sic] control of the timeline and narrative. Either way this is a low class jerk move by Fred.' Koepka has little use for these kinds of he-said, he-said back-and-forths in the media. He added on Wednesday that "Everybody seems to have their own opinion and no one asks me," in response to being asked about Couples' comment. When Koepka jumped to LIV in 2022, he signed what is believed to be a contract through the 2026 season worth $100 million. (LIV does not release details of player contracts.) Koepka remains one of the biggest draws in the LIV circuit, primarily because of his ability to contend in virtually every major. However, the state of golf is in such flux that it's impossible to guess whether Koepka's contract will remain in force through 2026, or whether LIV itself will even exist in its current form in 2026. "I don't know where I'm going, so I don't know how everybody else does," Koepka said. "Right now I'm just focused on how do I play better, how do I play better in the majors, how does this team win, and then we'll figure out next year and how to play better again. It's the same thing. It's just a revolving cycle. I've got nothing. Everybody else seems to know more than I do." That might be the only real flaw in Koepka's line of thinking ... because nobody seems to know more than anyone else about where golf is headed.
