Houston Sports - Fred Couples

Fred Couples

Born: October 3, 1959

Sport: Golf (62 professional wins - including 1 Masters and 2 Players Championships, former world #1 golfer, 2-time PGA Player of the Year, World Golf Hall of Fame)

This weekend the eyes of the golf world focused on a town along the border between Georgia and South Carolina which is home to one of the most beloved golf courses in the world and possibly the most famous tournament.  Every spring as the magnolias and azaleas bloom, Augusta National Golf Club welcomes the most elite players, scores of celebrities, and thousands of fans to compete in the Masters Tournament, one of four major tournaments in men's professional golf.  I watched a significant amount of this year's tournament, and was happy to see recognition for a competitor who, although he is well beyond his prime playing days, still manages to play this challenging course well.  Fred Couples, a seasoned veteran with Houston ties, is a past champion and has etched his name into the record books as the oldest player to make the cut during the Masters, and on this past Thursday he also became the second-oldest man to play a round below par.  So with that accomplishment under his belt, I thought we should show him some respect and learn a bit more about him.

The University of Houston during Couples' time of enrollment

Born in Seattle, WA, young Fred was the grandson of Italian immigrants who had changed their name from its original Coppola in an effort to fit into their new nation.  His mother was of Croatian descent and his father worked for the local parks department, which likely gave him access to the city golf course despite the family not being affluent.  Fred was gifted his first set of clubs by a local player after the young man served as his caddie for a round.  His unorthodox self-taught swing, which was unique for leaving the front foot flat and included not wearing a golf glove, led him to consecutive state high school championships and he received a scholarship to join the University of Houston golf team in 1978.  Impressing everyone as a freshman, Couples became an All-American during his first year and followed it up by returning to his home state to win the Washington Open that summer.  His second All-American year as a Cougar was even better, seeing him win team MVP honors and narrowly losing the conference championship in a playoff to future professional golfer Payne Stewart.  He also made an appearance at the US Open, posting the lowest score by an amateur and placing 48th.  In addition to befriending his roommate Jim Nantz, who later became the lead CBS golf broadcaster, and future golf pros Paul Marchand and Blaine McCallister, Couples also became acquainted with Deborah Morgan, and the two were later married.

A third year at UH led to more successes for Fred Couples, but no more interest in classes.  While visiting Deborah in California, he tried to enter a tournament in Long Beach but was told that no amateur slots were available.  He impulsively decided to forego his final year of college and filled the final professional spot.  Couples finished in the top 10 at that Queen Mary Open, pocketing the royal sum of $2,000, and in 1981 he joined the professional tour.  In December the couple were married, but despite flashes of brilliant and powerful play that earned him the nickname "Boom Boom", Couples' success was limited.  It wasn't until 1983 that he finally won his first tournament, surviving a five-way playoff at the Kemper Open.  His second win was a big one, as he took the 1984 Players Championship and began to be recognized as a legitimate contender on the tour.  Unfortunately, however, despite a pair of top-10 finishes at major tournaments Couples was winless over the following two seasons.  Although he never hired a swing coach, it was during this time that he worked through some of his issues with former college pal Paul Marchand, and the results were impressive.  He began winning tournaments, began a six-year streak of setting personal earnings records, and was selected for the Ryder Cup team that pitted the US against the best of Europe.  He was named PGA Player of the Year for the first time in 1991.

Achieving the world's #1 ranking on March 22, 1992, Fred Couples was red-hot as he entered the Masters Tournament just three weeks later.  Despite commentators beginning to wonder if he would ever have the motivation to fulfill his massive talent, he proved his detractors wrong by defeating the field and claiming the green jacket given to champions at Augusta National.  He held the top spot for a total of 16 weeks before being overtaken, and in spite of nagging back issues and a troubled marriage he earned his second consecutive PGA Player of the Year.  It was the peak of his career, however, as Couples was unable to reach the dizzying heights of success after 1992.  His marriage ended in divorce in late 1993 before his mother died of cancer on Mothers Day in 1994, and most of his wins and earnings for a period of time came from non-PGA events.  In 1996, however, he broke a two-year winless streak on the PGA Tour by claiming his second Players Championship victory.  At home, Couples' personal life continued to be bittersweet as his father succumbed to leukemia in 1997 before Fred once again found love and married an art dealer named Thais Baker in 1998.  The ebbs and flows of a professional career continued, but although he continued to be popular with crowds and perform well in limited events, injuries contributed to a 5-year winless streak.  It was in 2003 that he finally broke through, fittingly at the Shell Houston Open where he was a hometown favorite.  The laid-back golfer surprised many when he broke down in tears of joy as his final putt found the 18th hole for a four-stroke victory.  It would be his final PGA Tour victory.

Years later I had the opportunity to see Fred Couples up-close as he warmed up on the practice range at that same Houston event, although by that time he had aged into the senior circuit.  I was struck by the way he would casually strike a few balls, then wander over and chat easily with some other golfer (who was, no doubt, trying to focus his mental energies on the upcoming round).  Couples was his typical jovial self, easy-going and relaxed.  His skill has remained despite his age, as he has claimed 14 victories on the PGA Champions tour, including a pair of major championships and one tour championship.  In 2023 he made the cut at the Masters at the age of 63, the oldest man to ever finish the first two rounds in the top half of the leaderboard and allowing him to play all 72 holes of the tournament at least once in five different decades.  He has competed there 40 times, including this weekend where his first-round score of 71 was one stroke below par and only missed Tom Watson's record age for the feat by a month, and has made the cut 31 times, second-most all-time behind the legendary Jack Nicklaus.  His second wife died of cancer in 2009, and after several years he married Suzanne Hannemann in 2022.  Couples has been named to the World Golf Hall of Fame (2013), University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor (2000), Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2011), National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame (2007), and Croatian-American Sports Hall of Fame (2022).  Among the ways he gives back are the fundraising golf event he established in Seattle and a charity named for his mother.  Although he now resides in California, we in Houston will always welcome him back when he returns as a favorite local son.

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