Fred Couples

The 1992 Masters champion was introduced to golf by his father, Tom, who worked for the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department. Couples attended the University of Houston, earning All-American honors in 1978 and 1979. Five-time PGA Tour winner Blaine McCallister and current CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz were teammates with Couples.
Couples earned his PGA Tour card at Qualifying School in 1980 and secured his first victory at the 1983 Kemper Open in a playoff over T.C. Chen, Barry Jaeckel, Gil Morgan, and Scott Simpson. In 1984, he won The Players Championship and finished 7th on the PGA Tour money list. In 1987, he won the Byron Nelson Classic and finished 19th on the money list. He dropped to 21st in 1988, but in 1989 improved to 11th, then 9th in 1990 and 3rd in 1991.
In a span of 10 weeks in 1992, he won the Los Angeles Open, Nestle Invitational and the Masters, ultimately finishing the year as the Tour's leading money winner with $1.34 million in earnings. After being plagued by back spasms in 1994 and 1995, he won The Players Championship for the second time in 1996. In 1998, he won the Bob Hope and Memorial.
He was a member of 1989, '91, '93, '95, and '97 U.S. Ryder Cup Teams, as well as 1994, '96, '98, and 2005 Presidents Cup Teams. He captained the U.S. Team to Presidents Cup victories in 2009 at Harding Park in San Francisco, Calif.; 2011 in Australia; and 2013 at Muirfield Village G.C. in Dublin, Ohio.
Couples won the Vardon Trophy, awarded to the player with the PGA Tour's lowest scoring average, in 1991 and 1992. He also won the 1991 and 1992 PGA Tour Player of the Year and 1992 PGA of America Player of the Year awards. A full-time member of the PGA Tour from 1981 to 2009, he has played in 619 events and has made 491 cuts, recording 161 top-10 performances, including 17 runner-up finishes and 15 victories.
2010 Notes: Finished 2nd in his first official PGA Tour Champions appearance at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai before winning three consecutive starts at The ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif., and the Cap Cana Championship in the Dominican Republic. Shot a 66 to take the first-round lead at the Masters before finishing 6th. Captured his fourth win of the year at the Administaff Small Business Classic.
2011 Notes: Made only one start from early May through late July and entered 10 events overall. After undergoing Orthokine therapy during the summer to help with his ailing back, he won two of his last six starts, including the Senior Players Championship, surpassing $1 million in earnings.
2012 Notes: Despite making just 11 PGA Tour Champions starts, Couples still surpassed the seven-figure mark in earnings, finishing third in the Charles Schwab Cup race, thanks to a pair of victories. Claimed the second major championship of his PGA Tour Champions career when he birdied the final two holes at the Senior British Open at Turnberry to turn back a late charge by Gary Hallberg.
2013 Notes: Won the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship and notched runner-up performances at the Toshiba Classic, Regions Tradition, Encompass Championship and Constellation Senior Players Championship. Posted another strong showing at the Masters, finishing T-13th. Made the cut for the 27th time at Augusta National, tying him with Raymond Floyd for third place on the all-time list in that category, behind Jack Nicklaus (37) and Gary Player (30). Tied for 46th in his 31st appearance at the PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open at Riviera C.C. in Pacific Palisades, Calif., breaking the record for most starts by a player in the event, a mark he previously shared with Gene Littler. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in May 2013.
2014 Notes: Finished in the top-five in seven of his 11 starts on the PGA Tour Champions. Began the year with a T-2nd at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai before winning the Toshiba Classic for the second time in his career. He then finished 5th at the Mississippi Gulf Resort, 4th at the Greater Gwinnett Championship, and 2nd at the Insperity Invitational. Couples was forced to pull out of the Senior PGA Championship and U.S. Senior Open because of back issues. Later in the summer, he defeated Billy Andrade in a one-hole playoff to win the Shaw Charity Classic. Despite the limited schedule, he finished 8th in the Schwab rankings and on the money list.
2015 Notes: Started the year with a 3rd-place finish at the Mitsubishi Electric. Made his 33rd start at the Northern Trust and missed the cut for only the fifth time. Made his 31st start at the Masters, missing the cut for only the third time. He was planning to play at the Senior PGA Championship, but a sore back forced him to withdraw. It was the same injury that forced his withdrawal from the 2014 U.S. Senior Open. Didn't play between the Masters and the middle of July, returning to competition at the Encompass Championship, where he finished T-10th. His only senior major start was at the Senior Open, where he finished T-5th. He finished the year 17th in the Schwab Rankings and 25th on the money list. It was the first full year on the PGA Tour Champions that he couldn't secure a win or earn over $1 million.
2016 Notes: Back problems continued to sideline Couples. He was unable to play at the Masters for the first time since 1994 due to his back injury. He got off to a fast start early in the year at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai and finished T-6th. Finished 2nd in his next start at the Chubb Classic. That would be his final PGA Tour Champions start until October when he returned to play at the PowerShares QQQ Championship, where he finished 37th. Early in the year, the only other start was at the PGA Tour's Northern Trust Open in late February, where he missed the cut after rounds of 74-72. Was an assistant captain to Davis Love III for the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team in September.
2017 Notes: Started the year finishing 2nd at the rain-shortened Mitsubishi Electric Championship, one stroke behind Bernhard Langer. Finished T-6th at the Allianz Championship and won the Chubb Classic. It was his first victory since the 2014 Shaw Charity Classic. Was the first-round leader at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic with an eight-under-par 65. Shot back-to-back rounds of three-under-par 70 and eventually finished T-4th. Was T-5th with partner Jay Haas at the Bass Pro Shops. He also added his second win of the year at the American Family Insurance Championship. Was T-4th at the U.S. Senior Open and T-3rd at The Senior Open in Wales. Ended the year with a T-12th finish at the Charles Schwab Cup. He was 10th in the money race and 13th in the Schwab Cup. Only played in 12 events due to injuries.
2018 Notes: Only made seven PGA Tour Champions starts. Was T-6th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. After Hawaii, his back was so painful that he didn't play again until a week before the Masters. Despite the discomfort, he did play in the Masters, finishing T-38th, the 30th time in 33 Masters starts that he had made the cut. He didn't play again until the American Family Championship in June, in which he was defending his title. He wasn't optimistic; the only reason he went was because tournament host Steve Stricker being a good friend. Couples played great, with rounds of 69-67-67 to finish T-3rd, two shots behind winner Scott McCarron. It would be his best finish of the year, as he was 56th in the money race.
2019 Notes: Played in 12 PGA Tour Champions events with six top-10 finishes. Couples' back was fine during the year. In his first start, finished T-5th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai after opening with a 72. At the Oasis Classic, had rounds of 67-69-70 to finish T-8th. Earned his third top-10 of the year with a T-10th at the Hoag Classic. Missed the cut at the Masters, only his second missed cut in the last 10 years. Shot a final-round 63 at the DICKS Sporting Goods to finish 2nd, two strokes behind Doug Barron. It was his best finish since winning the American Family in 2017. The next week at the Boeing Classic, he led going into the final round but shot 76 and finished T-3rd. Ended the year with a T-8th finish at the Invesco QQQ. He finished 29th in the money race with earnings of $692,508.
2020/21 Notes: Played in 20 PGA Tour Champions events with 12 top-10 finishes. Started his PGA Tour Champions season with a T-2nd finish at the 2020 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Couples found himself tied, and in a playoff with Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez, he was eliminated when he bogeyed the first extra hole. Jimenez defeated Els on the second hole. Couples finished 8th at the Chubb Classic, then T-5th at the Cologuard Classic. Posted another runner-up finish at the Hoag Classic, finishing two strokes behind winner Ernie Els. After the break for COVID-19, he finished T-8th at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. Was T-5th at the Charles Schwab Cup and started 2021 with a T-4th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Was T-6th at the 2021 Chubb Classic and Principal Charity Classic. Was T-2nd at the American Family Insurance Championship, he made a bogey on his final hole to finish a shot back of winner Jerry Kelly. Finished T-3rd at the 2021 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship after shooting even-par 280. Couples birdied four of his last six holes to card 3-under 67 on Sunday. Finished 7th at the 2021 U.S. Senior Open for his fifth consecutive top-10 finish of the season. Posted rounds of 69-71-69-71 to finish at even-par, seven shots back of winner Jim Furyk.
2022 Notes: Played in 8 PGA Tour Champions events with two top-10 finishes. Fred got married on February 22nd to his longtime girlfriend Suzanne Hannemann. Was supposed to play in the Chubb Classic but withdrew due to a sore back. Did play in his 37th Masters, missing the cut. At the Mitsubishi Electric, shot a final round 66 to finish T-2nd, a shot back of winner Steve Flesch. At the SAS Championship shot a final round, 12-under 60, bettering his age (63), with birdies on 12 of his last 14 holes to win the tournament by six shots. It was the 16th round of 60 or better in Champions Tour history. Snapped a winless streak of 1,939 days to claim his 14th win on PGA Tour Champions. Became the fourth-oldest winner in PGA Tour Champions history at 63 years and 13 days.
2023 Notes: Only played in ten Champions Tour events, had two top tens. Was T-8th at the Chubb Classic and T-10th at the Galleria Classic.
2024 Notes: Has had back problems this year, forced to withdraw from Hoag Classic and Galleria Classic.