Tag: Fred Couples

Fred Couples on Tiger’s chances at St. Andrews: ‘He can win this thing’

How will Tiger Woods fare at the 150th Open Championship? It’s the $64-million dollar question.

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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — How will Tiger Woods fare at the 150th Open Championship?

It’s the $64-million dollar question heading into the final men’s major of the year at The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Given that the last time Woods played in May at the PGA Championship, his body couldn’t handle the wear and tear of walking Southern Hills and he bowed out early (WD after the third round), there have been concerns whether he’d be able to play this week. But Woods played 58 holes in the lead up to the Open Championship, not to mention several rounds in Ireland as part of his tournament preparation.

Few have a better sense of how Tiger is doing than Fred Couples, a longtime friend who used to have Tiger’s caddie Joey LaCava as his own sidekick.

Speaking during his Fred Couples Radio Show on Sirius XM on Wednesday, Couples gave a window into the state of Tiger’s game and this ringing endorsement: “I talk to him every night and when he tells me things, you know, some are top secret. But when he talks about his game, he says, ‘I am driving it really, really well. I’m putting well.’ And again, at St. Andrews, if he does his deal, he’s one of the best iron players to ever play, if not the best. And if he’s not striping four irons into par fours, but he’s got nines and wedges, I honestly think he knows that he can win this thing.”

Tiger is scheduled to tee off at 2:59 local time (9:59 a.m. ET) in the first round alongside reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa.

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Andrew Whitworth, Marshall Faulk help USA win Icons Series golf event

Members of Team USA included Michael Phelps, J.R. Smith, Ben Roethlisberger, Golden Tate, Michael Strahan, Reggie Bush, and Michael Vick.

Andrew Whitworth is no longer competing on the football field, but that doesn’t mean he’s given up competition altogether. He and Rams legend Marshall Faulk helped Team USA win the inaugural Icons Series golf tournament, beating Team ROTW (Rest of the World) at Liberty National.

It was a two-day event that pitted some of the best athletes in the world against each other on the golf course. Members of Team USA included Michael Phelps, J.R. Smith, Ben Roethlisberger, Golden Tate, Michael Strahan, Reggie Bush, and Michael Vick.

The format was a Ryder Cup-style match-play event spread across two days. Whitworth and Faulk lost their singles matches, but they had more success in the doubles format. Whitworth and Robbie Gould won 1-up, and the team of Faulk and Strahan pushed their match.

This is just the first event of the Icons Series, which plans to play matches in various countries around the world.

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Pat Perez’s outlandish shirt, Fred Couples burying him and Phil Mickelson adding scathing takedowns among latest LIV Golf news

Pat Perez sported a shirt featuring $100 bills to the LIV Golf pro-am party, which seemed fitting.

Pat Perez wore a button-down shirt to the LIV Golf pro-am party on Tuesday night in North Plains, Oregon, that was so garish, so outrageous that only the words of that renowned wordsmith Phil Mickelson would do it justice: it was obnoxiously something, that is for sure.

Greedy? Well, the shirt featured a motif of $100 bills, which was only fitting since Perez sold out for the Benjamins. It was meant as quite the super flex – imagine his friends and fellow LIV defectors telling him, ‘well played,’ and yucking it up, maybe his wife tabbed it “iconic” as she labeled the Saudi-backed league in her bizarre Tik Tok post. But the shirt only showed his lack of respect for the PGA Tour, his place of work since 2002, which gave him a platform to earn more than $28 million in career earnings. However, Perez in his money shirt would make a fitting personal logo or better yet a perfect representation for all of LIV Golf.

It’s sad that we’ve reached the point in this charade where Perez is being praised for being one of the only LIV players to admit that he made the leap for the money. He went so far as to literally wear it proudly rather than hide behind the lark of ‘growing the game,’ or so many of the other sham justifications.

“This opportunity has been like winning the lottery for me,” he said.

Perez , to his credit, has managed to keep his card all these years despite just three PGA Tour wins, sometimes just squeaking inside the top 125. He was marking time until PGA Tour Champions at age 50 when thanks to the help of Dustin Johnson he was handed a lifeline – and reportedly some $20 million in guaranteed money – to jump ship to LIV Golf. Hardly anyone is going to miss him.

When Rory McIlroy mentioned that some of the LIV players were duplicitous, he had others first and foremost in mind, but Perez has to be first-team All-duplicitous after his rant against Mickelson and all things Saudi golf at the Genesis Invitational in February, which is really worth a full read but here are some select excerpts.

“I would never say anything bad about the Tour because I’ve had an unbelievable life doing it, and I still have the Champ Tour to think about it. I’m exempt on the Champions Tour for as long as I want to play. That’s an unbelievable type of retirement thing on top of the retirement package that we have already. I’ve got no reason to bitch about anything. I’m kind of one of those lucky guys that I think I see it the right way,” he said.

“For me to make roughly $40 million total with everything of a guy that got kicked out of college, that whole thing and was supposed to be a garbage man, really. For me, yeah, I’ve earned every penny of it because we have to do it all the time,” he said.

That was followed up by another all-time takedown of Mickelson during a podcast appearance in early March on Golf Subpar with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, which Golfweek detailed here.

But Perez did warn us in February that he was susceptible to flip. “You throw me a hundred and I actually get it, I’m gone,” he said. “I would take it. Why wouldn’t you?”

All Greg Norman had to do was show him the money. Apparently, his price was a lot less than a hundred – or was he referring to just one Benji?

World Golf Hall of Famer and Fred Couples, speaking to Golf.com, so far is the most outspoken player to call out Mickelson, Perez and the rest of the duplicitous. He delivered some choice words specially for Perez.

“I heard of all people Perez was a little confrontational,” Couples said of the press conference ahead of Perez’s LIV debut this week in Oregon. “He’s a grain of sand in this Tour. He should be soft and kind, but he’s, like, raising his voice. I’m done with it.”

Couples saved his best for Mickelson:

“Have you ever seen Phil look so stupid in his life? They know it’s a joke,” and added, “I don’t think I’ll ever to talk to him again.”

In other words, go pound sand.

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Why Fred Couples asked Charlie Woods for permission to use his caddie

Fred Couples nearly won for the first time in almost five years with Joe LaCava’s son on his bag.

Fred Couples nearly picked off his first PGA Tour Champions victory in almost five years.

The 62-year-old Couples was looking for a caddie for the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Atlanta and hooked up with a familiar name, only this time it was the son of his former caddie who was by his side.

“I came here and told a lot of people that, yeah, I’ve got LaCava caddying for me,” Couples recounted, referring to Joe LaCava who worked for him for 22 years. “I didn’t really say, Joseph (the name of LaCava’s son). So he came and they all knew who he was immediately. He’s a superstar.”

Joe Sr., has worked for Tiger Woods in recent years, including at the 2019 Masters, and LaCava’s son has caddied for the past two years at the PNC Championship for Charlie Woods. When borrowing another player’s bagman, it’s customary to ask permission. Tiger once asked to use Fluff Cowan at the start of his career when Peter Jacobsen was injured and later Adam Scott requested to use Steve Williams while Tiger was sidelined. Couples thought it was only proper to ask Charlie for permission, too.

“I got in touch with Tiger and (Justin Thomas) was on the thread and they didn’t reply. I think maybe they thought we were teasing a little bit. I said, ‘Listen, Tiger, I need to make sure Charlie’s OK with Joe caddying for me in Atlanta’,” Couples told Golf Channel ahead of the tournament. “He got right back to me and said, ‘I just talked to him and he’s OK with it.'”

Did Joe Jr. reach out to Charlie too?

“I missed out on Charlie’s number as well, but looks like Fred took care of all the work, so, it’s all good,” Joe Jr. said.

The younger LaCava, who graduated from James Madison University, previously caddied during the summer at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York, and still caddies there on weekends.

“I’ve known him since he was 4 years old,” Couples said. “I know his father like the back of my hand; he’s the spitting image of him. … it’s like the old days. I called Joe, told him to get a hotel near me and get a rental car. He’s picking me up and taking me to dinner. Nothing’s changing there.”

But for Joe Jr., this was the equivalent of getting promoted to the big leagues. After he walked the course, he called his dad, who gave him some simple advice.

“Always have a ball in the pocket, make sure the towel is always wet,” Joe Jr. said. “That’s about it.”

They made a good tandem. After a pair of 70s, Couples shot a final-round 6-under 66 to finish at 10-under 206, one shot short of tournament winner Steve Flesch. Still, his tie for second was good enough to earn a check for $132,000 and a pretty fat check for young Joseph.

Definitely like old times.

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Davis Love III names Fred Couples, Zach Johnson as vice captains for Presidents Cup

The matches pitting the U.S. against The Internationals will be played Sept. 20-25 at Quail Hollow Club.

Davis Love III has two helping hands.

Love named Fred Couples and Zach Johnson as two of his vice captains Wednesday for the upcoming Presidents Cup. The matches pitting the U.S. against The Internationals will be played Sept. 20-25 at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Love, who was a captain for the U.S. in the Ryder Cup in 2012 and 2016, can name two more vice captains to the squad.

“To add someone with (Couples’) experience as both a captain and captain’s assistant to our 2022 team will be a wonderful benefit to our players, not to mention the relaxed, calming demeanor he brings to what can be a tense setting,” Love said in a release. “Zach is an incredible competitor and someone who garners great respect from his fellow players. His value inside the team room will be immense as a major champion who has competed in Presidents Cups, was an assistant captain in 2019, and knows what it takes to deliver a successful week.”

Serving as a captain or an assistant captain has become old hat for Couples, who won 15 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1992 Masters, and has won 13 times on the PGA Tour Champions. This will mark the eighth time Couples has been a part of the Presidents Cup as a player, captain or assistant captain.

Couples was a player when the U.S. lost its only match in the lopsided series – in 1998 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. He captained the Americans to three consecutive victories starting in 2009.

This will be the fourth time Couples will serve as an assistant,

“Charlotte is an incredible sports city, and I’m confident the atmosphere at Quail Hollow will make for an amazing week of golf,” said Couples, who was a teammate with Love in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2005. The two also represented the U.S. in the World Cup of Golf, winning in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Johnson, a winner of 12 PGA Tour titles including the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews, was named the 2023 Ryder Cup captain in February. He’s played in the Presidents Cup four times and was an assistant to Tiger Woods in 2019.

“Having played for Davis in past international events, I know how passionate he is about creating a tremendous atmosphere for U.S. team players to have success, while also ensuring we are prepared to compete each day,” Johnson said. “I’m looking forward to doing all I can to help the team succeed in September.”

The U.S. leads the series 11-1-1; its only loss a 20½-11½ drubbing in 1998. In 2003 the two teams tied 17-17.

In the most recent edition, Woods, as a playing captain, led the Americans to a come-from-behind, 16-14 victory at Royal Melbourne in 2019.

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‘If he can walk around here in 72 holes, he’ll contend’: Fred Couples after Masters practice round with Tiger Woods

Couples had a lot to say after a Monday practice round with the 15-time major champion.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fred Couples had no plans to play on Monday. Then he got a text Sunday night.

“Dude, we’re playing at 3:00 tomorrow, see you on the tee.”

Couples couldn’t say no to Tiger Woods.

So at 2:45 p.m. local time, the 1992 Masters champion was joined on the first tee by the five-time Masters winner and the 2017 PGA champion Justin Thomas.

Patrons 5-10 deep enclosed the entire first hole, the first indication that this wasn’t going to be any ordinary Monday afternoon practice round at the Masters. In fact, Sunday Masters arrived six days early as the galleries and the waves of people following Woods and his playing partners were as large as ever seen at Augusta National Golf Club.

Few if any were disappointed. Especially Couples.

“He looked phenomenal,” Couples said after the nine holes. “He’s my favorite guy. What impresses me the most is he was bombing it for one. If you want to talk golf, he was bombing it. I know JT is not the longest hitter on the Tour, but I know he’s damn long. He was with him flushing it.

“It’s a Monday, right, but he didn’t miss many shots.”

Woods showed no signs of injury – there was no grimacing, no limping. The scorecard didn’t matter as Woods was more concerned with putting his right leg through another test for what he hopes is the ultimate exam come Thursday in the 86th edition of the Masters.

The 15-time major champion last played an official event in the 2020 November Masters where he tied for 38th. Three months later, he was involved in a high-speed, single-car crash north of Los Angeles that nearly took his life and severely injured his right leg and foot; amputation was considered.

After being bed-ridden for four months, unable to walk, Woods slowly has worked his way back. Riding a cart for 36 holes, Woods played with his son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship in December and the two finished second.

Woods has been playing regularly at The Medalist near his Jupiter, Florida, compound. He has walked many of his rounds.

Last Tuesday he flew up to play 18 holes at Augusta National with his son and Thomas. On Sunday, he played the back nine at Augusta National.

For the record, he missed two of seven fairways in regulation and three greens on Monday. His best performance came on the uphill, par-5 eighth hole when he reached in two to set up a 30-foot eagle putt. He missed. Then again, he had no serious intent with his putts on the balls in play.

However, at each hole, he spent a considerable amount of time chipping and putting to different quadrants on each green.

Woods did not speak afterward. He meets with the media at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

“He didn’t putt much, but it’s Tiger Woods, he knows how to putt, he knows how to play this course,” Couples said. “And the driver was a machine. He hit it in the bunker on 2 but he smoked it, drove it pin high almost on 3. He looks great. The sound of the ball – so I’m comparing it to JT who’s a top-two, top-three player in the world. They both looked good. JT looked very good, too.”

Couples has battled back issues for more than 30 years. He understands back pain and can commiserate with Woods on that issue. Yet he’s still impressed what Woods has done since the car crash.

“What he had was back issues, a few operations and then a horrific car accident,” Couples said. “He’s the first to tell you; I’m lucky to be alive, lucky to be with my kids, and now he’s playing.

“I don’t know the right words. It’s not shocking because he’s the greatest player to ever play. You give him a couple good legs and he swings like this, but now comes the walking part of it, and I’m not a guy that’s going to guesstimate on that. I watched it today, he looked phenomenal.

“To hit it like that, now it’s just the walking part. If he can walk around here in 72 holes, he’ll contend.”

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‘We’re still on the honeymoon’: Fred Couples got married again, this time in golf attire

Couples has 15 PGA Tour and 13 PGA Tour Champions titles to his name, including the 1992 Masters.

Fred Couples and his new wife, Suzanne, said “I do,” on 2-22-22.

The 15-time winner on the PGA Tour and 1992 Masters champion recently remarried the week of the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic, and judging by the wedding photo, Boom Boom looked like he was ready to walk straight from the ceremony to the first tee for a quick round.

“Suzanne invited a small amount and I invited a small amount and we had a great celebration,” Couples said of the ceremony. “It’s been nine days now so we’re still on the honeymoon.”

Couples has 13 wins on the senior circuit – most recently in 2017 at the American Family Insurance Championship – as well as two senior majors, the 2011 Constellation Energy Senior Players and the 2012 Senior Open Championship. The 62-year-old is in the field for the Hoag Classic this week and is grouped with last week’s champion Miguel Angel Jiménez and Jim Furyk to start the week.

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Two-time champion Fred Couples, eight other Hall of Famers in PGA Tour Champions’ Chubb Classic field

Couples, a former World No. 1 who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013, won in Naples in 2010 and 2017.

NAPLES, Fla. — The Chubb Classic added a couple of booms to its field Monday.

Two-time champion Fred Couples (whose nickname is Boom Boom) was announced along with four other World Golf Hall-of-Famers, bringing the total to nine playing in the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO next week.

Davis Love III, Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam were the others, joining previously announced Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Bernhard Langer, and Colin Montgomerie. Langer has won the event, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, a record three times.

They will join a 78-player field competing in the first full-field event of the 2022 PGA Tour Champions season, Feb. 18-20, for a share of a $1.6 million purse. Players have until 5 p.m. ET this Friday to commit. Golf Channel will televise all three rounds of play.

“We are excited about the strong field of World Golf Hall-of-Fame members and major champions who will be joining us to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO,” said Sandy Diamond, executive director of the Chubb Classic, in a release. “This world-class field will give our great fans the opportunity to watch up close so many legends of the game competing on one of the best destination golf courses in the country in Tiburón Golf Club.”

Couples, a former World No. 1 who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013, won in Naples in 2010 and 2017. He has 13 Champions victories, including two major championships. Couples is a three-time winning captain for U.S. Presidents Cup teams and a two-time U.S. Ryder Cup team vice-captain. He accumulated 15 PGA Tour victories, including the 1992 Masters and two Players Championships.

Love, a 21-time winner on the PGA Tour including the 1997 PGA Championship and 1992 and 2003 Players Championships, will be making his 2022 PGA Tour Champions season debut. A two-time U.S Ryder Cup captain, Love was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.

Lyle, a 2012 Hall-of-Fame inductee, is a two-time major champion – 1985 Open and 1998 Masters – as well as the 1987 Players Champion. He has 30 professional wins worldwide and topped the European Tour’s Order of Merit in 1979, 1980 and 1985.

Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion (1994 and 1999) has recorded 30 professional wins worldwide and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. A seven-time European Ryder Cup team member, Olazábal captained the European Ryder Cup team’s comeback in 2012, eventually defeating the U.S. 14½ to 13½.

Woosnam, a former World No. 1, has accumulated over 50 worldwide victories during his Hall-of-Fame career, including 29 on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) and the 1991 Masters. He joined Love III as a 2017 Hall-of-Fame inductee.

The 2021 Chubb Classic was played last April at The Black Course at Tiburón Golf Club, where Steve Stricker captured his sixth PGA Tour Champions victory by one stroke over Robert Karlsson and Alex Cejka. Tiburón is the only club to host a PGA Tour, LPGA and PGA Tour Champions event in the same calendar year.

Chubb Classic 2022 ticket options

There are four ticket options for fans:

Good-Any-One Day Grounds — $25. General admission daily grounds, valid Thursday, Feb. 17 (Pro-Am), and Friday-Sunday, Feb. 18-20 (tournament rounds).

Weekly Grounds — $40. General admission daily grounds, valid Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 17-20.

Legends Lounge 17th Green Suite — $125 per day. Private luxury suite offering exclusive views of the 17th green. Includes hot appetizers, afternoon snacks, soft drinks and cash bar.

ULTRA Club 18th Green Suite — $400 per day. Private luxury suite overlooking the 18th green. Includes premium full lunch buffet, open bar and valet parking.

All tickets are available at chubbclassic.com.

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Fred Couples says he’d like to serve as Ryder Cup captain, but he may be too late

“Would I like to be Ryder Cup captain? Of course.”

Fred Couples has been the winning captain for three U.S. Presidents Cup teams and has been a Ryder Cup vice-captain twice, including two weeks ago at Whistling Straits where the U.S. routed Europe 19-9.

So when will Couples get his chance to captain the Ryder Cup?

Perhaps never, he said on Wednesday.

“Now I’m a little old for the system,” the two-time Players champion said after warming up for the Wednesday pro-am in the PGA Tour Champions Furyk & Friends. “I mean, would I like to be Ryder Cup captain? Of course, but that’s probably not going to happen.”

The Ryder Cup is run by the PGA of America and the Presidents Cup by the PGA Tour.

Speculation is that the 61-year-old Couples might have a chance in 2023 in Rome because of his Italian ancestry. His paternal grandparents came to the U.S. from Italy and changed their name from Coppola to Couples.

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Couples said his main strength as a Presidents Cup captain and assistant Ryder Cup captain is sensing a player’s mood and state of his game just by having a conversation.

“I can just see in their eye something’s going on,” he said. “And it’s easy. Golf is kind of secondary for me. I was a good player and I knew my game, but I can feel out other people’s games pretty easily, I just have a knack for saying ‘what’s going on?’ and I enjoy that.”

Couples had one reason for the U.S. team’s victory this year.

“I’ve never seen people not nervous in my life,” he said of the demeanor shown by a young American team. “There was something going, I don’t quite get it. They’re all better players than probably I’ve ever been, but there was just — there wasn’t much nerves.”

Couples was in charge of a “pod” with Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay. That foursome combined to go 14-1-2.

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What type of a vice captain will Phil Mickelson be next week? This story gives a hint

Phil Mickelson learned from Fred Couples at the Presidents Cup how to be a vice captain.

NAPA, Calif. – When U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Steve Stricker announced that Phil Mickelson would be one of his vice captains at the 43rd Ryder Cup, it was the end of an era.

Mickelson represented Team USA at his first international competition as a pro at the 1994 Presidents Cup and hadn’t missed a Ryder Cup since 1995 at Oak Hill. Despite his victory at the PGA Championship in May, Mickelson conceded that his game has lacked consistency. Still, it’s a rarity for a major winner not to make the team. In fact, the last American to win a major and be left off the Ryder Cup team was Todd Hamilton, who claimed the British Open in 2004.

What will Mickelson bring to the table as a vice captain next week? He answered by telling a story:

“I remember on the 18th hole at Memorial, the Presidents Cup in 2013, coming down the last match, we’re tied. I’m playing with Keegan, alternate shot. He’s up ahead of me walking with Captain Couples and I hit one in there about 12 feet. Keegan’s nervous and Fred puts his arm around him and says, ‘Isn’t this the best?’ Like this is the best moment, this is what we’re wanting to be, the position we’re wanting to be in, isn’t this fun?” Mickelson recalled. “Keegan, you could see him just kind of breathe again, knocks that putt in. Graham DeLaet holed a chip shot right in front of him, Keegan knocks it right on top of him for a tie. Captain Couples had – there’s been a lot of great captains, but that’s an example of one thing where a captain can make a difference on a player’s emotional state.”

Mickelson spent Sunday and Monday at Whistling Straits as part of Team USA’s course reconnaissance mission and said the trip was a good bonding experience.

“It’s fun to hang with the guys and to have that time together, but also to be able to now prepare for a week knowing what to expect, who you’re going to play with, golf balls, if you might change,” he said. “You have a week to get ready.”

Just don’t expect Mickelson to come out of the bullpen if the team needs a 13th man to replace an injured or ill team member.

“I don’t see that happening,” he said. “I mean, I’m hopeful that we’re all being responsible and staying safe and not having any COVID issues.”

Mickelson said that the Fortinet Championship will be his final PGA Tour start of 2021, though he will make an appearance on the PGA Tour Champions to play in the Furyk & Friends in Jacksonville, Florida, in October. Other than that, he enjoyed cracking jokes about the one-week layoff between the FedEx Cup finale in Atlanta and the start of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season this week. As he departed his press conference, he turned and said, “Everybody have a good year. Good to see you. Thanks for being here.”

Moments earlier, Mickelson laid it on even thicker saying, “after a long offseason, you don’t really know how your game is. You could be very rusty after this week off.”

He smiled that goofy Mickelson grin and added that he had work to do on his game. “I don’t want to wait another week,” he said, “I want to get started.”