Tag: Fred Couples

With Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples chosen as Ryder Cup vice captains, where does that leave Tiger Woods?

U.S. captain Steve Stricker now has five assistant captains for this month’s matches.

ATLANTA – Phil Mickelson is going to the Ryder Cup.

As a vice captain, not as a player.

A tweet from the PGA of America’s Ryder Cup USA feed said Wednesday Mickelson and 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples have joined Team USA for the Ryder Cup Sept. 24-26 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

“I’ve been staying in close contact with both Freddie and Phil, talking about all things Ryder Cup, for a while now,” U.S. captain Steve Stricker said in a release linked to the tweet. “They provide honest and impactful feedback, and both have such a passion for the Ryder Cup.”

Stricker now has five assistant captains. The PGA of American confirmed that each team can only have five assistants per the agreement between the U.S. and Europe, so this means Tiger Woods will not be with the team as an assistant.

The other three assistant captains are 2012 and 2016 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, 2018 Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson.

Mickelson, 51, had played in 12 consecutive editions of the Ryder Cup, his debut coming in 1995. The six-time major champion, winner of 45 PGA Tour titles and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame became the oldest player to win a major championship at this year’s PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Unfortunately, it was only one solid week – he didn’t have another top 10 in 2021. Mickelson spoke openly of his desire to make the team as a captain’s pick, but his last gasp efforts included a missed cut in the Northern Trust and a tie for 66th in the BMW Championship in the first two FedEx Cup Playoffs events.

In his U.S. record 12 appearances, he was 18-22-7 in a U.S. record 47 matches.

Couples, a winner of 15 PGA Tour titles, will be making his second appearance as a vice captain after serving in 2012. In his five editions as a player, he was 7-9-4.

Patrick Cantlay, who won last week’s BMW Championship, inadvertently said during his victory press conference that Couples was going to be an assistant.

“I’m excited,” Cantlay said when asked about securing an automatic spot on U.S. team with his win in the BMW Championship. “Fred Couples texted me this week and said it looks like he’s going to be one of the assistant captain, and so he’ll be up there.”

Cantlay is one of six automatics, the others being Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka.

Stricker will make six captain’s picks Sept. 8.

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A game: Stephen Ames, Billy Andrade tied for lead at U.S. Senior Open

Stephen Ames posted a 65 in the morning wave. Billy Andrade matched it late at Omaha Country Club on Thursday.

Stephen Ames posted a 65 in the morning wave at the 41st U.S. Open. Late in the day, Billy Andrade matched it and those two co-leaders will take a one-shot lead into Friday’s second round.

Andrade had five birdies and was bogey-free on Thursday. Ames had two bogeys but carded seven birdies, including four on the back nine.

Wes Short, Jr., also went bogey-free and he is in solo third, a shot back.

Alex Cejka, who didn’t play the Senior Players but won the first two majors of 2021, sits in a tie for fourth with Robert Karlsson after shooting each shot a 67. Cejka has now posted his ninth consecutive round of par or better in a major this year.

U.S. Senior Open: Leaderboard

Jay Haas, the oldest golfer in the field at age 67, shot a 69 on Thursday. Fred Couples shot a 1 under as well. Those two are among a group of eight golfers tied for eighth.

“I tied a 67-year-old man, so I’m tickled pink,” Couples, 61, joked on Golf Channel after his round.

There are 34 amateurs in the field. Two of them, William Mitchell and Jeff Wilson, posted even-par rounds of 70 and are T-16 after day one.

Omaha Country Club is hosting the U.S. Senior Open for a second time. Kenny Perry, who won the event there in 2013, is tied for 29th after shooting a 1-over 71.

There is a chance of some inclement weather rolling through the area on Friday.

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At age 61, Fred Couples is still chasing trophies, including first at Firestone

Fred Couples has finished tied for sixth or better in four of his last five events on the PGA Tour Champions.

He may play only occasionally on the PGA and Champions Tours, but Fred Couples is still chasing trophies.

That was evident Wednesday as Couples warmed up for the pro-am before the $3 million Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, which opened Thursday at Firestone Country Club’s famed South Course.

Couples has finished tied for sixth or better in four of his last five events on the PGA Tour Champions. He tied for second his last time out on June 13 at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wisconsin, one stroke behind winner Jerry Kelly.

Some might consider themselves on a roll with such 2021 results. But not Couples, who remains driven to succeed at age 61.

“Yeah, I was on a roll a couple weeks ago and bogeyed the last hole to lose to Jerry Kelly, but I played very well. In April I was in the last group in Naples and there were a couple really, really good scores the last round and I had kind of a so-so last day,” he said of the Chubb Classic, where he carded a 71 in the final round and tied for sixth.

LIVE UPDATES: Bridgestone Senior Players Championship

“I mean, on a roll, yeah. I’d like to win, but I’m playing pretty well. I don’t play that much, so my rolls are just getting to the tournaments and getting going.”

Couples has recorded 13 Champions Tour victories, the last in 2017, when he captured the Chubb Classic and the American Family Insurance Championship. He’s won 15 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1992 Masters, 1984 and 1996 Players Championship and the 1998 Memorial Tournament.

Part of Couples’ frustration likely comes from the preparation he put in before this year’s Masters, only to shoot 79-78 and miss the cut by eight shots.

“I worked hard to go to Augusta and what I shot, 78, 77 or something crazy, and I practiced and played and I ended up saying I can’t do this,” he said on the Firestone driving range. “Then I went to Naples and really liked the course. Going to Sunday, honestly, I was I think tied for the lead and I played pretty well, I just didn’t putt very well.

Fred Couples stretches as he makes his way to the 18th hole during the first day of the Chubb Classic, Friday, April 16, 2021, at the Tiburon Golf Club in North Naples, Florida.

“So I changed putters, and since then I’ve started to putt pretty well, so it makes the game a little easier when you’re making four-, five-, six-footers for pars. I’m going to definitely have to putt well here.”

In Madison, Couples was paired with Miguel Angel Jimenez (who tied him for second) and Retief Goosen (who tied for fourth). Couples shot 68 in the final round and lost to Kelly, who carded a 66.

“Even if I’m behind this Sunday and I come out and play a good Sunday and move my way up, it’s always a good feeling,” Couples said. “In Madison, I really played very well on Sunday. I hit the ball great, had a great pairing with Jimenez and Goosen and I thought one of us was going to win.

“Next thing I know Kelly starts birdieing every hole.”

Couples tied for eighth last year in the Bridgestone Senior Players, when only champion Kelly and runner-up Scott Parel shot under par. In 2019, the first year of the Champions event in Akron, Couples tied for 22nd, his 285 total leaving him 11 strokes behind of winner Goosen, who fired a 62 on Friday.

Couples started participating in the NEC World Series of Golf at Firestone in 1983. His best finish in that event was third in 1992. In five World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitationals, his best was a tie for 15th in 1999, the inaugural year.

But Couples loves returning to Firestone, even though friends at home in Newport Beach, California still believe Akron hosts a PGA Tour event. The WGC moved to Memphis, Tennessee, after the 2018 tournament.

“At home, everyone’s shocked that when I tell them I’m going to Akron. They don’t even realize that the Tour players don’t play here anymore and that the old guys play here, so it’s kind of funny,” Couples said.

“The guy who won the California State Open, he’s my age, and he said, ‘Where are you going next?’ I said, ‘To Akron.’ He said, ‘Akron? You’re not in the World Series?’ I said, ‘No, I’m not, but I’m in the Bridgestone event there.’ Then I told him the winner gets to go play in the Players Championship, so that got a rise out of him.”

This is the third year for the Bridgestone Senior Players at Firestone. The club has hosted a professional golf event for 68 years, and Couples considers himself lucky to compete on a course he considers U.S. Open-quality. He was honored as the event’s 2019 Ambassador of Golf.

“Like I said a couple years ago, this is amazing that we’re playing here,” Couples said. “We have a lot of great tournaments, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t play golf courses like this.

“We’re lucky to be here, thanks to Bridgestone and the local charities. You know, it’s one of my favorite places.”

Couples said the memories flood back when he returns. He played with eight-time WGC-Bridgestone Invitational champion Tiger Woods when Woods won at Firestone for the first time in 1999.

“I played on Sunday with Tiger when he won one year, that was crazy. Crazy fun just to see that,” Couples recalled.

That flashback helped Couples see the good in his game, despite what he considers disappointing results.

“I know right now what I have to do well and that is drive the ball well,” he said. “I feel like I am, so I just have to play smart and not panic if I make some bogeys and start thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to hit a driver on this hole.’

“I played probably 25 events here and hitting driver on holes you shouldn’t doesn’t work out very well in your favor. It may work one day out of the four, but not if you’re going to play four rounds.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

Jerry Kelly repeats at American Family Insurance Championship on PGA Tour Champions

Wisconsin native Jerry Kelly won on familiar turf Sunday at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison.

Jerry Kelly did Wisconsin proud once again.

Defending his title from 2019 in his hometown American Insurance Championship, Kelly shot a 66 on Sunday, then watched as Fred Couples, who nearly chipped in for a birdie on 18 to win, miss a six-foot comebacker for par to hand Kelly the win.

“Can’t get any better than this,” Kelly said after earning his eighth victory on the PGA Tour Champions. “After doubling the 18th hole yesterday and bogeying the first hole, I was reeling a little bit.

“It means so much for me to win around here, and now twice, I’m over the moon.”

Couples, won the 2017 tournament for the last of his 13 senior titles. He tied Miguel Angel Cabrera for second. Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen tied for fourth at 12 under, two shots back.

“Hit a good shot. 18, I’ve been there before, I don’t mind driving it over there,” Couples said about the par-5 closing hole. “Then I chose to be long coming back this way. I knew I wasn’t going to get it close and it just came out hot and rolled through the green. I thought I was putting and then chipped it strong and pushed the putt and that was it.”

Tournament host and Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker finished T-7 at 9 under after a 65. Like Kelly, Stricker grew up and lives in Madison.

Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz was 79th among the 80 finishers, shooting a 74 to get to 16 over.

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Bryan Harsin makes debut at Regions Tradition

Bryan Harsin made his debut at this year’s celebrity pro-am preceding the Regions Tradition.

This year’s celebrity pro-am preceding the Regions Tradition kicked off today at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Hoover. Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin took part in the event and teamed up with Bo Jackson and Charles Barkley.

Before the festivities began Harsin addressed the media expressing that while he does not golf often he still loves the game and is excited to play alongside two Auburn legends. Fresh off their SEC Championship win the Auburn Women’s Golf team gifted coach Harsin with a set of Callaways which is what he played with today.

Also included in Harsin’s group is Fred Couples, former Master’s Champion, and Bubba Bussey, co-host of Rick and Bubba radio show.

It would appear that Barkley has been hard at work to improve his golf swing under the guidance of golf instructor and PGA Tour winner Stan Utley. Video of Barkley’s new swing has now gone viral and when Harsin was asked what he thought of Chuck’s new swing he said, “it was a lot better than I was told.”

Barkley had high praise for the Tigers’ newest football coach and commended him for his courage to leave the comforts of Boise State and move to Alabama to take on “King Kong.” He also said if a fight were to break out that he would want Harsin by his side because, “me and coach Harsin are going to kick some ass.”

I don’t doubt that at all.

Stay tuned for celebrity results. Charles Barkley is already undefeated in press conferences. First Round Championship Play begins tomorrow at 10:00 AM with live coverage available on the Golf Channel from 11:00 AM-2:00 PM. If you missed today but still want to make the trip Marshall Tucker Band is playing a live concert presented by ZYN White Claw Watering Hole (I’m already very intrigued by this) immediately after play concludes at 4:30.

Fred Couples, Robert Karlsson lead after second round of Chubb Classic

Fred Couples now has company atop the leaaderboard at the Chubb Classic.

NAPLES, Fla. – Fred Couples finished where he started Saturday — in the lead at the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO.

But the two-time winner in Naples didn’t do so as emphatically as the first round. And he has plenty of company.

Robert Karlsson, a Swede with 11 European Tour wins and a pair of European Ryder Cup appearances, has a share with Couples at 12-under 132 on Tiburón Golf Club’s Black Course.

Couples, who set the course record with a 9-under 63 Friday, was nowhere near that sharp Saturday – at least as far as making birdies. He parred the first 10 holes before finally getting a birdie to drop on No. 11, then gave that back with a bogey on No. 12.  But he came right back with a birdie on No. 13, then finished with back-to-back birdies to tie Karlsson.

“I just didn’t make many birdies or hit any really, really good shots — but finished strong, and I’m tied with Robert with a handful of guys very, very close,” said Couples, 61, who hasn’t won on tour since 2017.

“It was a good birdie on the last. I didn’t hit the ball poorly, you’ve just got to get it in the right spots. … It got exciting out there, and it got bunched up. Someone at 8-under could shoot 7- or 8-under and still win. No one is really out of it, that’s for sure.”

Karlsson came in with a 66 late Friday, then matched it Saturday. He was 6 under for the round with five holes to play, but made a bogey and parred three of them before birdieing No. 18.

Karlsson arrived in town early to check out the new tournament course and that’s been a good move.

“It has definitely helped, definitely for the tee shots,” he said. “I put in a bit of extra work and kind of hitting some of the low tee balls, which is useful here. There’s a bit of wind and a lot of trees protecting the fairways, so if you can keep it underneath the tree line, it’s quite easy; you can take a bit of the wind out, which is nice.”

Three-time champion Bernhard Langer, U.S. Ryder Cup captain and part-time Naples resident Steve Stricker, and Monday qualifier Alex Cejka are all one behind. Cejka made seven birdies in his last 11 holes in a 65, the lowest of the day.

“Everything is wide open, so it just depends who is hot,” said Langer, who rallied from a double-bogey on No. 3 with six birdies and is four off Hale Irwin’s tour record of 45 career victories.

Stricker grabbed the lead with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, but bogeyed No. 17 and then had to get up and down for par on the par-5 18th.

“This course if you get it going in the right direction, you can really shoot a nice round like Freddie did (a 63 on Friday),” Stricker said. “You’ve got to kind of expect that somebody may do that (Sunday), maybe two or three or four shots back, putting up a good round.”

“I think for the leaders, the guys up around the lead, you’re going to have to play a good round and maybe shoot 5-, 6-, 7-under and see what that does for you.”

Cejka is trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour Champions since Doug Barron at the 2019 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

“I’m just happy to be out here,” Cejka said. “I’ve been waiting many, many years to finally qualify here to this Tour. I’m having fun. It’s a blast. I mean, it’s a great group of guys here, three rounds, no cut, perfect golf courses.”

Karlsson, 51, and Cejka, a 50-year-old from Germany, don’t have the name recognition of Couples, Stricker or Langer.

“It’s enough to worry about my own ball, I’m pretty sure,” Karlsson said. “Look, I’ve done this before. Even though I’m not very well-known in America, I’ve had a few chances in Europe and won a few tournament in Europe, so I know when I get lost in what players around me are doing, it’s very hard.

“So my focus for (Sunday) is just to focus on my own golf ball and to go out and play and enjoy and also take all the pressure off.”

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Fred Couples leads charge at Chubb Classic, shoots course record

The World Golf Hall of Famer is going for his third victory in Naples, but the only player with three of them is just two strokes back.

Fred Couples knew he wasn’t a “79 shooter” as he put it, referring to one of his last rounds of golf at the Masters last week.

Couples more than beat that in the first round of the Chubb Classic on Friday, firing a course record, 9-under 63 on the Tiburón Golf Club Black Course.

“I had from last Friday to today to think about it, seven days to figure out, ‘Am I a 79 shooter or am I better than that?’ and today was a good day,” Couples said.

Before the Masters, Couples came down and worked with Sam Reeves at Seminole Golf Club on the state’s East Coast, and played with a few Tour players. Then he shot 79-78 at Augusta National.

“I got to Augusta and I just kind of froze on a few shots out there,” he said. “All that practice didn’t pay off.

“But I can promise you today was a good day ball-striking, and I have practiced pretty hard, so it’s pay off today.”

Fred Couples stretches as he makes his way to the 18th hole during the first day of the Chubb Classic, Friday, April 16, 2021, at the Tiburon Golf Club in North Naples. (Photo by Jon Austria/Naples Daily News USA TODAY)

Couples putted well, draining a 30-footer on No. 7 and then following up with another one from that length from off the green. And that was just in the middle of five straight birdies that resulted in making the turn at 6 under. He added birdies on Nos. 11, 15 and 18, getting up and down from in front of the grandstand after going over the green on the par 5 No. 2.

“I think anytime I putt well and feel like I’m seeing the putts, I’m going to make a few,” he said. “A lot of wedges, but I hit a lot of fairways. I don’t know if I hit every fairway, but I kept the ball in play, kept it below the hole, and like I say, the hole got big there for about a five-hole stretch, and I hit the ball solid all day. But hitting the fairways was huge.”

Couples said he got fitted for a TaylorMade 3-wood and ended up using that club a great deal off the tee.

“I drew it, which gives me a little extra yardage, and I had a lot of 9s and wedges to these holes, but again, the 3-wood was key for me today,” he said.

The World Golf Hall of Famer is going for his third victory in Naples, but the only player with three of them is just two strokes back.

Bernhard Langer shot a 7-under 65, and has won three times in Naples and is just four off Hale Irwin’s PGA Tour Champions record of 45 career victories.

“It wasn’t a whole lot of stress on my round because I kept the ball in play,” Langer said. “I think part of the key is to hit the fairways and miss all the shrubs and the lateral hazards and all that kind of stuff, which I did today. I drove it well. And then I hit a lot of greens. Didn’t have too much trouble getting it up-and-down.”

Part-time Naples resident Steve Stricker, who just sold his house here, played with Couples and tried to follow him up. He finished at 6 under, three back, along with Gene Sauers and Robert Karlsson.

Chubb Classic: 18 Golfers To Watch this week at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples

“I didn’t get off to a fast start by any means, so kind of saw Freddie playing well and kind of spurred me on to kick myself in the rear end and get going,” Stricker said. “… He did everything well. He drove it in the fairway. He hit some really nice irons, and I actually putted really well. He made one from off the green on No. 8.”

And answered that he’s better than a 79 shooter.

Greg Hardwig is a sports reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @NDN_Ghardwig, email him at ghardwig@naplesnews.com.

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Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal talk last week’s Masters at Augusta National

Eight former Masters champions played at Augusta National last week, and now must transition to the Champions Tour at the Chubb Classic.

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For the first time, some of the PGA Tour Champions golfers are making quite the adjustment this week.

Eight former Masters champions played at renowned Augusta National Golf Club last week, and now must transition from those conditions and facing the top players in the world of younger ages, to the Champions Tour at the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO.

Jose Maria Olazabal didn’t win a third Masters, but he arrived at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort as a winner of sorts. The 55-year-old was the only one of the eight to make the cut, and finished tied for 50th.

“I was here (Tuesday) afternoon for a little while, and I think everybody was in a state of shock that I made the cut last week — me included,” Olazabal said.

Olazabal shot a 3-over 75 in the first round and followed that up with a 1-under 71 in Friday’s second round to make the cut. He shot a pair of 75s over the weekend.

CHUBB CLASSIC: Leaderboard

“It was a very nice surprise, I have to say,” Olazabal said. “It’s been, what, seven years I think the last time I made the cut. It was great. It was great to make the weekend, especially on the Friday that was — it would have been Seve (Ballesteros’) birthday. It was a bit emotional in that regard. Plus other things, but it was really nice. I felt proud.”

Mike Weir was second among the former champions who are in the field this week. But he missed the cut by two strokes at 5 over. Bernhard Langer missed the cut by four shots, followed by Ian Woosnam (+9), Sandy Lyle (+12), Couples (+13), Vijay Singh (+15) and Larry Mize (+19). Mark O’Meara, another former Masters champion, is in the Chubb field, but did not play last week.

“I played fairly well and shot college score shots like when I was 16 years old,” Couples said.

Olazabal attributed his scores to saving par, since he was hitting a lot of 5-woods and 7-woods into par-4s, for example.

Bernhard Langer tees off on hole 12 during day two of the Chubb Classic Pro Am at Tiburón Golf Club in North Naples (Alex Driehaus/Naples)

“To shoot those scores, it’s very hard,” Couples said. “(The course) was a rock hard — it was hard to get a ball close, but he’s got a great short game, and that week you needed to have a short game.”

“He’s always had tremendous short game,” Langer said. “That’s important at Augusta. If he can keep his driver in play he’s always one to reckon with. He knows the place.”

“That was great to see Jose come back and play so well,” Weir said. “That had to be a brutal golf course for him, very long. For him to make the cut there just shows how good his short game is. His short game is just phenomenal, world-class.”

Weir couldn’t quite make up enough ground to make the cut after an opening-round 78, but he did shoot a 1-under 71.

“I felt like my game was really ready to contend there,” he said. “I was kind of shocked that I had such a bad short game day Thursday. That’s what really set me back.”

Langer tied for 29th in the Masters in November when it moved from its usual April dates due to the coronavirus pandemic. He missed the cut by three after shooting 74-77 and didn’t have a birdie in the second round.

“I thought the course was playing almost the opposite from last November,” he said. “Very firm at first. The greens were actually firmer on Monday and Tuesday than they were on — in the tournament rounds.

“So I think they were close to maybe losing some of them so they put a little water on them then they had a little bit of rain here and there, but conditions were great. Weather was beautiful. I just didn’t play good enough.”

Couples shot 77-73 at the Masters in November. He’s nowhere near saying when his last Masters will be.

“The last year I had a 78; year before that 76. But the last two years I’ve come back and had two really, really good other rounds,” he said. “This year I did not. But, no, I mean, it wasn’t a length problem. To be honest with you, I didn’t putt very well in November and I couldn’t get the speed of the greens down and I actually played OK, and then this year was five months later was the complete opposite. I putted everything 10 feet past, chipped everything horribly.”

Jose Maria Olazabal lines up his putt on the second green during the third round of 2021 The Masters Tournament. (Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports)

Olazabal said adjusting to Tiburón’s Black Course will be more than just the undulating, lightning-quick greens Augusta is known for.

“It’s a completely different golf course,” he said. “Small greens, greens are firm and fast, that is true, but you have to position the ball here. Fairways at Augusta are much wider, and in that regard for me, that I’m not the best or the straightest driver in the world, well, that helps over there.

“But I know that here I need to be sharp off the tee in order to be able to compete for the event.”

Weir, who tied for 51st in the November Masters, agreed.

“A lot of my preparation going to Augusta was hitting a lot of long clubs because I knew I was going to have rescue clubs and 5-irons and 6-irons and 7-irons into a lot of the holes there at Augusta where here you’re hitting a lot more wedges, so it’s just putting in a little more time in on the wedge shots,” he said. “And we’re in some Bermudagrass around the greens, so that’s difficult pitching, probably more difficult than Augusta because of the grain.”

As Couples implied, though, going anywhere after Augusta National will be an adjustment.

“(It) is hard to play on a golf course like that when you never do it — once a year,” he said. “I mean, we play golf courses that are nice; sometimes they play hard.

“But when you just all of a sudden hop out of bed Thursday morning and go play a course like that, it’s a little freakish, even though I love it.”

Here are 6 players to watch for at this week’s Chubb Classic

Here’s a look at a few players to watch this week at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, which will be played on the club’s Black Course.

The field of the PGA Tour Champions’ Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO is filled with World Golf Hall of Famers, major champions, and those who have made their names on the Champions Tour.

Here’s a look at a few to watch this week at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, which will be played on the club’s Black Course, the first time it has been used for a tour event. The Gold Course, the original of the two Greg Norman layouts, has been used for every QBE Shootout since 2001, and also for the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship since 2013.

Tiburón had 27 holes, then an additional nine were added, with the Black Course opening in 2002, four years after the Gold. The fourth nine joined with the old South Course to become the Black Course. The North and West became the Gold Course.

Here are a few players to watch for:

Masters: Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy among those to miss the cut

Brooks Koepka and defending champion Dustin Johnson were among the biggest stars who missed the cut at the 85th Masters.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson were among the biggest stars who missed the cut at the 85th playing of the Masters.

The 36-hole cut – only the top 50 and ties moved on – came at 3 over. That number also sent home Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Cantlay and 31 others from the field of 88.

Among those not heading home is Bryson DeChambeau, who rebounded from a 76 on Thursday to post a 67 on Friday. Also playing the weekend: Phil Mickelson, who made the cut on the number.

But many other big stars weren’t so lucky.

Here’s a closer look at some notables not playing this weekend.