Fred Couples hasn’t changed much
A large gallery followed Fred Couples during Thursday’s pro-am at Newport Beach Country Club.
They wanted to see the golfer with the laid-back persona and sweet swing. On the PGA Tour, Couples had 15 wins, and put on a Masters jacket in 1992. But he had not tasted victory since the 2003 Houston Open.
Now a rookie on the Champions Tour, for golfers 50 and over, Couples was expected to enjoy an advantage in length against his new rivals. That has been the case thus far, and it’s a big reason why Couples is a favorite to win at the 16th annual Toshiba Classic, which starts Friday and ends Sunday.
He finished second in his first event, a stroke behind Tom Watson, the 60-year-old who grabbed headlines by nearly winning last year’s British Open. Watson’s in Newport Beach too.
Couples then won the Ace Group Classic in Naples, Fla. on Feb. 14, when he held off Tommy Armour III, another first-year senior.
The Toshiba Classic will be Couples’ third start on the Champions Tour.
“I have been playing well; I’ve gotten off to a great start,” said Couples, captain of the victorious 2009 Presidents Cup team. “I know I still can play golf. I have had two great events on the Champions Tour, and I hope to continue to play out here the same way.”
The rest of the golfers on the Champions Tour believe Couples can. Watson, a 39-time PGA Tour winner, said he has not been surprised with Couples’ play this year. And all this talk about Couples being the man to beat, well, Watson doesn’t mind that either.
“Fred Couples is the favorite,” Watson said, a bit tongue-in-cheek, so as to steer high expectations from himself. “I knew Freddie would come out here and do very, very well. He controls his game very well.”
In November, that didn’t appear to be the case. Couples said he wasn’t sure he could play because of a bad back. But just before the year ended, Couples regained strength.
Now, he has become a pain for everyone else on the Champions Tour.
“Fred is what you get,” said John Cook, who is 52 and has won four Senior Tour events. “That is, exactly what you see is exactly how he is. He just moves along, a long flowing swing. Kills it. It looks like he doesn’t care, and he doesn’t care. It’s kind of the way he is.
“There is no real mystery to Fred Couples. He is very, very good. Has always been very good. He never really had that downtime where he lost his game or anything. He has been consistent through his 25-plus years on [the PGA Tour] and remains that way.”
Cook nearly won last month at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla. Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters champion, beat Cook in a one-hole playoff.
Langer, a World Golf Hall of Fame member who won the Toshiba Classic in 2008, is also here in a field that includes Corey Pavin, Tom Lehman, Fred Funk and Mark O’Meara.
Even Lee Trevino is on hand. At 70, he’s the oldest of the bunch. In all, the field includes 11 Hall of Fame members and 23 PGA Tour major champions.
