Couples Looking for One More Major Moment

When Len Mattiace finished the 18th hole at Riviera with an exuberant howl that was swallowed up in the cheers of the gallery, it was festive and celebratory. Mattiace was now a 34-year-old first-time winner on the PGA Tour and his applause was well-earned.

An hour earlier, Fred Couples had come to the same 18th hole. As Couples walked up the fairway, the crowd stood and roared and Couples couldn’t help but smile. He smiled even more when he capped off his five-under-par round of 66 with an eight-foot putt to save par. It was a little triumph that earned a big reaction.

The golf fans know. Couples may not play here again. He is 42 and he loves Riviera about as much as he loves any course in the world. Ten years ago, Couples won his second Nissan Los Angeles Open title at Riviera and then he won the Masters and became the world’s top-ranked golfer. Now, Couples is not in the top 100 in the world rankings. A week ago Saturday, Couples reached over to pick up some range balls and felt something pop in his back. That was a bad day.

This week was a good week. There were no pops in his back and the ball was flying off his driver. He is getting comfortable with a new putter. His 66 Sunday tied him with Per-Ulrik Johansson and Billy Mayfair for low round of the day. His 21st appearance at Riviera earned Couples his 10th top-10 finish.

It led him to say how much this course means to him, how he appreciates its tight corners and how it rewards skillful iron players. He feels the history of the place. He met his wife, Thais, while playing at Riviera.

And Couples has come to the point in his career where winning the Nissan Open is not the challenge. Winning the Masters again, that is the challenge.

Couples is a little like Pete Sampras. Sampras is clear about why he is still playing tennis. It is to win major championships. Couples was clear Sunday about why he is still playing. “The Masters,” Couples says. “My big goal is to do well at the Masters once more.”

His love for Augusta is even greater than his love for Riviera.

Jim Nantz, Couples’ roommate and golf teammate at the University of Houston and good friend for 25 years, says that from the time the two met, Couples has been drawn to Augusta. “It is the course that was suited to Fred,” Nantz said. “It was the place he knew he should do well.”

His only green jacket came in the magical 1992 season. He tied for second in 1998 but never came seriously close to another win. Even during his disaster of a 2001 season, when he missed the cut at the British Open and the U.S. Open, Couples finished 26th at the Masters.

Still, by the end of last year, Couples was ranked No. 131 in the world. In his 21-year pro career, Couples had never before finished lower than 76th. He missed the cut five times. His back hurt often, his beautiful swing was betrayed by a bad putter and his enthusiasm seemed missing.

If 2002 is the same as 2001 for Couples, he says, “I’m going to have to re-evaluate what I’m doing here and whether I want to continue.”

Nantz watched Couples closely Sunday. Nantz was the analyst for CBS and confessed that he might have spent more time than usual talking about a ninth-place finisher. But Nantz was intrigued. Golf tournaments are about so much more than who wins and loses.

Obviously, the day belonged to Mattiace, but Nantz kept being drawn to Couples. He loved the way Couples fought to save par at 15 with a long putt and the up-and-down at 18.

He loved the way Couples was focused and the way Couples seemed comfortable with the putter. He loved the way the ball flew off Couples’ driver, the way it soared so high and far, the way it did in the best days when Couples was on top of the world.

“Ten years ago, my goodness, that’s what I was thinking today,” Nantz said.

It is what happens to us when we reach a certain age. Ten years ago sounds like a lifetime but feels like a moment and it’s hard not to think of ourselves as we were 10 years ago as the same way we are now.

Couples sees himself as he is. A man who will not be No. 1 again. He was proud to say that “I haven’t missed a cut this year. I’m five for five.” He was touched by the reaction of the gallery and pleased with his last three rounds of 68, 68 and 66. There was a point on Friday, after his opening 72, where Couples seemed in danger of missing the cut. “But he didn’t,” Nantz said. “That’s one of those little battles.”

At the AT&T; Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month, Nantz and Couples and friends and family had a nice dinner after the Saturday round. Knowing how much Couples is aiming for the Masters, Nantz wanted to give his friend something else to swing for. This year’s WGC-NEC Invitational, the August event usually held in Akron at Firestone for the top 50 ranked golfers, is going to be played at Sahalee Country Club outside of Seattle. Seattle is where Couples grew up and learned golf and where he is beloved.

“I told Freddie he needs to qualify for Sahalee this year. I told him I want to see him walking up the 18th hole on Sunday at Sahalee. I want to see that reaction.”

Couples wants to see another reaction first. As he walks up the 18th at Augusta on the final Sunday, in contention.

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Diane Pucin can be reached at diane.pucin@latimes.com.