Northern Trust Open: Fred Couples finally makes par

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Fred Couples still has a one-stroke lead over Aaron Baddeley, with Couples, Baddeley and Kevin Na having completed four holes. Couples had birdied the first three, causing the old trees at Riviera Country Club to shudder (or that could have been a wind gust, but let’s pretend it was Couples’ 18-foot birdie putt on the third hole).

On the par-three fourth hole, though, Couples finally settled for a par to remain at 12-under. On Saturday, when he finished the day at nine-under, a shot behind leader Baddeley, Couples had speculated it would take a 12- or 13-under to win. Let’s see how prescient Couples is.

Meanwhile, Na, who hopes to pick up his first PGA Tour victory and have a trophy to send back to South Korea, where his father is undergoing treatment for leukemia, has bogeyed two of his first four holes and is now tied for fifth with Jimmy Walker. Another veteran, Vijay Singh, is two-under through five holes and is in third, one behind Baddeley and two behind Couples.

-- Diane Pucin