Fred Couples
Fred Couples
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Fred Couples

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Fred Couples

Frederick Steven Couples (born October 3, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. A former World No. 1, he has won 64 professional tournaments, most notably the Masters Tournament in 1992, and the Players Championship in 1984 and 1996. Couples became the oldest person to make the cut in the Masters Tournament history during the 2023 Tournament at 63 years, six months, and five days.

In August 2011, Couples won his first senior major at the Senior Players Championship and followed this up in July 2012 when he won the Senior Open Championship. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013. Couples garnered the nickname "Boom Boom" for his long, accurate driving ability off the tee during the prime of his career.

Couples was born in Seattle, Washington, to Tom and Violet (née Sobich) Couples. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Italy and changed the family name from "Coppola" to "Couples" to make it sound less ethnic. His mother was of Croatian descent.

His father was a groundskeeper for the Seattle Parks Department and the family, which included brother Tom Jr. and sister Cindy, lived in a modest house on Beacon Hill near the city's Jefferson Park golf course, where Couples developed his signature loose, rhythmic swing in order to gain enough distance to keep up with the older children. Couples admitted to being self-taught, never taking a lesson and never hiring a swing coach.[citation needed]

Couples attended O'Dea High School in Seattle and graduated in 1977.

In 1977, Couples accepted a golf scholarship to the University of Houston. As a member of the Houston Cougars men's golf team, he roomed with Blaine McCallister, another future PGA Tour player, and future CBS television broadcaster Jim Nantz.

As a 19-year-old amateur, Couples beat PGA Tour veteran (and fellow Seattle native) Don Bies in a playoff to win the 1978 Washington Open at the Glendale Country Club in Bellevue.

Couples's first PGA Tour victory came at the Kemper Open in 1983 at Congressional Country Club in suburban Washington, D.C. Playing in the final group with Scott Simpson and Chen Tze-chung, the three finished over one hour after the previous group on the course. In spite of rounds of 77, 76, and 77, Couples, Simpson, and Chen finished tied for first along with Gil Morgan and Barry Jaeckel who had finished their rounds several hours earlier. Jaeckel, who spent time in a bar waiting for regulation play to conclude, was eliminated on the first playoff hole after hitting a wild tee shot. On the second hole, Couples scored a birdie to take home the title.

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