When your name is next to Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, you’re doing something right.
AUGUSTA, GA. — Finishing in the top 10 of the Masters is an impressive accomplishment no matter the year. After all, Augusta National Golf Club isn’t for the faint of heart.
But to do so in four different decades? That’s a testament to a player’s longevity and ability to navigate Alister MacKenzie’s masterpiece among the Georgia pines.
Stats guru Justin Ray from the Twenty First Group was first to point out that Phil Mickelson had a shot to join the exclusive group of players with a top 10 this week, and Sunday afternoon he did just that.
Mickelson, who missed last year’s event after his controversial statements and move to LIV Golf, shot a 7-under 65 during the final round of the 2023 Masters to shoot up the leaderboard into a tie for second place with Brooks Koepka. A three-time winner of the green jacket (2004, 2006, 2010), Lefty has now finished inside the top 10 a whopping 15 times in more than 30 appearances at Augusta National.
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Here’s the impressive list of other players to finish top 10 at the Masters in four different decades.
Couples beat the previous mark set by Bernhard Langer by 104 days.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Earlier this week, Tiger Woods referred to Fred Couples as his dad out on the PGA Tour when he was a young professional.
On Saturday, the good friends both made Masters history.
Woods tied Couples and Gary Player for the most consecutive cuts made at Augusta National Golf Club with 23, and then Couples became the oldest competitor to make the weekend cut at 63 years, 184 days old.
Couples, winner of the 1992 Masters, beat the mark previously set by Bernhard Langer. The German finished T-29 at the 2020 Masters to set the previous record of 63 years, 80 days. Langer, winner of the 1985 and 1993 Masters, finished this year’s tournament at 5 over, two shots outside the cut.
Couples shot a 1-under 71 in Thursday’s first round and signed for a 3-over 74 in the second round to sit two shot inside the cut. He’ll play the third round with Mackenzie Hughes and Seamus Power starting off the 10th tee at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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“Just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I’ve been a part of for 42 years.”
Fred Couples says he doesn’t have a problem with LIV Golf and insists he still likes Phil Mickelson.
But he clearly doesn’t like the way the PGA Tour defectors left for the upstart golf circuit financially backed Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
According to a story in the Orange County Register, Couples, speaking at a breakfast to promote the upcoming Hoag Classic in Newport Beach on the PGA Tour Champions, shared some strong opinions about the state of affairs between the two golf circuits.
“I don’t have a problem with LIV,” he said. “What my problem has been when I tweet every now and then, is what these guys say when they go to the LIV Tour.”
Couples said that players should just admit they left the PGA Tour for those humongous piles of cash. The large sums LIV used to attract players aren’t really the issue to him.
“If you’re giving Phil Mickelson $200 million at age 52 to shoot 74 and 75, God bless you,” Couples said.
Many of those who left cited a more flexible schedule that allowed for more time at home with family.
“I find that comical, because my favorite to ever play has five kids, 40 grandkids, and he has never missed anything – and that was Jack Nicklaus,” Couples said, adding that he was also bothered by “all these other clowns, like Sergio” for berating a PGA Tour rules official.
What also irked Couples was that LIV players are “all bashing the PGA Tour, and that affects me a little bit. … just go to the LIV Tour, but stop blasting something I’ve been a part of for 42 years.”
The Hoag Classic starts Friday. Couples has won the event twice.
Jack Nicklaus is the only three-time winner of the Players, and he did so at three different courses.
All jokes about being golf’s fifth major aside, the Players Championship has a knack for delivering each year.
Turnover is the main theme, seeing as no player has ever defended their title at the PGA Tour’s flagship event, which has been held annually at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, since 1982.
In fact, over the last 20 editions of the Players Championship, 20 different winners have hoisted the trophy. Eight past champions are in the field this week with the aim of joining the short, distinguished list of six players who have won the tournament more than once, including Jack Nicklaus, the lone three-time winner.
Twenty-four tournaments down. Three to go to determine a champion.
Twenty-four tournaments down. Three to go to determine a champion.
The PGA Tour Champions head to the three-event Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs this week at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
A total of 72 golfers qualified for the postseason but only 68 will tee it up this week at The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course in Richmond, Virginia.
From there, the field will be reduced to 54 and then only the top 36 in the standings will advance to the finale at Phoenix Country Club for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Couples had gone five years, three months and 21 days since his last victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
Keegan Bradley wasn’t the only golfer to break a slump this weekend.
Fred Couples, who had gone five years, three months and 21 days since his last victory on the PGA Tour Champions, is on top once again after claiming a four-shot victory at the 2022 SAS Championship.
Bradley won in Japan at the Zozo Championship earlier in the day Sunday for his first win in 1,498 days. Couples did him one better, or perhaps 441 better, earning his first win in 1,939 days dating back to the 2017 American Family Insurance Championship.
He has finished runner-up five times in that span but after starting the final round tied at 8 under with Y.E. Yang, Couples made sure he wouldn’t have another second-place this time around.
“Everyone thinks we can win out here and today was my day,” he said, perhaps the understatement of the week.
Couples closed his front nine with five straight birdies on Nos. 5-9. On the back, he made five in a row again on Nos. 12-16 to put himself on 59 watch, as he was at 10 under with two to go at the par 72 Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, North Carolina. The 17th is a par 5 and the closing hole is a par 4.
Couples birdied the 17th for a sixth consecutive birdie to get to 11 under and needed a hole-out eagle on 18 to break 60. He didn’t get the eagle but he did close with a seventh straight birdie to shoot a 60—shooting 30 on each side—which was good enough to beat his age by three shots, and, more importantly, earn him his long-awaited 14th PGA Tour Champions victory at 20 under.
Couples had Steve Flesch’s son, Griff, working as his caddie this week.
“My caddie, Mark Chaney, has been with me a while and he’s with his mom in London, and then I had Joe LaCava’s son caddie,” Couples said. “I just texted Griff, he thought I was joking, I said just get to Raleigh on Tuesday and we’ll have a good time, and we did.”
Steven Alker who had five birdies and an eagle on the 17th closed with a 64 to claim solo second at 14 under. He’ll start the Schwab playoffs in the No. 1 spot but count him among those impressed by Couples.
“Yeah, that’s insane. Obviously Freddie’s just got it in the groove and has it rolling. You don’t shoot 12 under, 11 under without putting well. Good on him, that’s fantastic, good to see.”
Jerry Kelly finished at 12 under to take solo third. Rocco Mediate finished at 11 under, which was good for solo fourth. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alex Cejka tied for fifth at 10 under.
Dick Mast, who Tuesday qualified into the SAS with a 66, five shots better than his age, shot 78-74-72 to finish 73rd.
The SAS Championship was the regular-season finale for the 2022 PGA Tour Champions season. The top 72 on the points list advance to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs with the field reduced to 54 for the second playoff event. From there, only the top 36 advance to the final.
Schwab Cup playoffs lineup
Dominion Energy Charity Classic, The Country Club of Virginia Richmond, Virginia, Oct. 21-23
Defending champion: Bernhard Langer
TimberTech Championship, Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club Boca Raton, Florida, Nov. 4-6
Defending champion: Steven Alker
Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Phoenix Country Club Phoenix, Nov. 10-13
Defending champion: Phil Mickelson
Notah Begay can only remember one time when Tiger Woods didn’t pay attention to him.
Notah Begay can only remember one time when Tiger didn’t pay attention to him. It was during the 2000 Presidents Cup and Begay asked him for a layup number at a par 5.
“It was alternate shot, and I asked him for a number that he wanted, and he wouldn’t tell me,” Begay recalled. “So what I did was I laid him up to his most uncomfortable number because I knew what his most uncomfortable number was.”
What was the yardage that made Tiger uncomfortable? Begay said it was just inside 100 yards.
“So I laid him up to a bad number on purpose because he was making me mad,” Begay said.
His move almost cost them big time in their match as Tiger skulled the third shot over the green into a back bunker, and forcing Begay to splash out close to the hole just to escape with a tie.
“We both walked off the green kind of chuckling at each other because he knew that he actually should have given me a number for me to lay up to instead of me having to figure it out on my own,” Begay said. “But we’re like brothers. We always have been.”
That’s not the only time a Presidents Cup teammate of Tiger’s has messed with him.
Fred Couples recently recounted the story of the time he had the 2009 U.S. Presidents Cup team believing that he’d stuck Tiger’s name in the envelope in case an International player had an injury.
Watch Freddie tell the story of his prank, which was so good it had Tiger texting Couples, “Dude, you got the biggest balls of anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Each @PresidentsCup, the captains select a player they're willing to sit in case the opposing team has an injury.
The Presidents Cup, now in its 14th edition, first launched in 1994.
The Presidents Cup, now in its 14th edition, first launched in 1994.
Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Prince William County, Virginia, was the host site for the first biennial competition pitting the top 12 American golfers vs. 12 of the best golfers from around the world, minus the European nations.
The 38th President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford, was named honorary chairman.
The team captains were Hale Irwin, who also played for the U.S., and David Graham for the International squad.
The U.S. won that inaugural event, 20-12. Davis Love III went 4-0-1 that week, while Fred Couples went 3-0. Jay Haas (3-2-0) and Jim Gallagher, Jr. (3-1-1) also each won three matches for the U.S.
The International squad, which lost Greg Norman just days before the competition due to illness, was led by Vijay Singh, who went 3-1-1.
If anyone knows about chirping and jabbing players, it’s Fred Couples, a three-time Presidents Cup captain.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There’s no denying the Americans have the advantage on paper at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
All 12 players on Davis Love III’s U.S. squad rank inside the top 25 in the world, with five inside the top 10. Only five International players rank inside the top 30. The Americans have five rookies, but two have played in the Ryder Cup.
The Americans aren’t afraid to tell you just how good they are, too.
“I mean, they don’t miss many shots, and they have a good time doing it,” said assistant captain Fred Couples, “and they like to show off a little bit and chirp.”
If anyone knows about chirping and jabbing players, it’s Couples, the three-time Presidents Cup captain who’s now in his fourth stint as a captain’s assistant.
“So he’s a great guy to have in the team room. He’s very calm, relaxed, rubs off on everybody,” Steve Stricker said of Couples. “And he’s not afraid to jab people, have fun with people, but when it comes time to be serious, he’s right there to be serious and, like I said, to provide that knowledge and that insight that he has.”
“Inside the team room, it may seem like he’s got this really easygoing, simplistic view, but it’s extremely cerebral. There’s a lot of thought, and he puts a lot into it. He’s invested. You just want to be around that,” added Zach Johnson, a two-time captain’s assistant who’s preparing for his Ryder Cup captaincy in 2023. “Then I like that he chirps. He gets on these kids. He’s not going to let them get on him or get complacent. He’s going to get after ’em, and that’s what you want in a leader.
“He’s been one of my favorite guys that I’ve ever had to play for, period.”
The love for Boom Boom Couples wasn’t the only thing discussed on the last day of practice rounds before Thursday’s foursomes matches. From the International challenge ahead to some fun players to watch, here are some highlights from a busy day of press conferences ahead of the 2022 Presidents Cup.
The International challenge
“The challenge is, I don’t know, we’ve got to win 15 ½ points against a really good team,” said assistant captain Geoff Ogilvy. “(Ernie Els) did an unbelievable job last time. I think we got a little bit of momentum out of it. We’ve got eight new players, maybe more, this week coming out here.
“It’s a perfect year, I think, for a really sort of fresh young team. Everyone is super excited.”
Let’s not glance over the, “maybe more” than eight new players comment. The rosters are set, but don’t be surprised to see some guys come out and support their respective teams this week. Immelman said on an episode of the No Laying Up podcast that Mackenzie Hughes, who lives in Charlotte, has been calling him and asking for tickets so he can come watch and spend time with the team. Will Zalatoris, who would have played for the U.S. team if he wasn’t injured, was seen on the grounds during Wednesday’s practice round.
While this event still somewhat lives in the shadow of the Ryder Cup and has struggled to find its identity, it still clearly means a lot to the players.
Speaking of identity … what steps forward have the Internationals taken since 2019?
“Look, I think the shield, I think, is pretty important. I think it was often hard for us to sort of have an identity,” Ogilvy explained, “bringing so many different cultures together in the same place.”
“The first year (2019) was great. This is the second time. It’s more and more recognizable. People are starting to buy the merch. Kids growing up in the world look at that and think, ‘I want that on my shirt one day,’ and that’s really powerful,” he added. “You might underestimate that, but that’s a really powerful thing. We represent the rest of the world. That’s a lot of people.”
“More than anything, he’s given this team an identity and given international kids something to aspire to.”
Simpson’s Quail Hollow knowledge doesn’t go as far as you think
“I don’t have a whole lot to offer to these guys in terms of course knowledge,” said Webb Simpson, an assistant captain for the U.S. and member at Quail Hollow. “One, most of the guys have been here and know it. And I’m telling you, these caddies, they know what they’re doing. We get to greens, they’re putting the holes down exactly where I would have put them, and they’re telling players to hit this putt and this chip.”
Team USA poses for a team photo with US soccer jerseys during a Wednesday practice day for the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports)
“More than anything, I’ve been a flag holder and a raker the last few days. But whatever they need from me, I’ll give it to them. I won’t hold back.”
Kim is stealing the show behind the scenes
Everybody has something nice to say about International rookie Tom Kim. The 20-year-old South Korean is coming off a breakout season on the PGA Tour that featured 10 made cuts in 11 starts with six top-25 finishes and a win at last month’s Wyndham Championship. Off the course, his sense of humor and youthful exuberance has been the catalyst for the good vibes in the International team room.
“We’re on 12 today, and (Tom) makes a mistake doing simple math there,” explained assistant captain Camilo Villegas. “So I look at the kid and said, ‘Tom, is that a college math?’ He looks at me and goes, ‘Dude, I didn’t even graduate from high school.’”
Keep an eye on Pendrith
“I think people are going to come to know Taylor Pendrith this week and going forward. Very impressed with his game,” said Canadian golf legend and assistant captain Mike Weir. “I think you guys all know how long he is, and that’s what’s talked about. He has a good, well-rounded game. Watching him hit iron shots, pitching, putting, he’s a very good player.
“You could put him on the range against anybody, and you would be like, ‘Is that guy the No. 1 player in the world or going to be?’ It’s that impressive. So excited that he’s on the team.”
Davis Love III, captain of the 2022 Presidents Cup, has an experienced group of assistants but also a newcomer.
An eight-time Presidents Cup participant. A former Ryder Cup captain. A future Ryder Cup captain. And a first-timer assistant.
Davis Love III, the captain of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in his home state of North Carolina, has an experienced group of assistants but also a newcomer getting his first taste of international competition as an assistant.
The biennial competition is Sept. 22-25 and pits a 12-man U.S. squad against a 12-man international team (minus the European nations). The Americans lead the all-time series 11-1-1 and has never lost when the matches are staged in the U.S.
Here’s a look at the four U.S. assistant captains:
