Couples springs Masters surprise
Source: Agencies |
April 8, 2012, Sunday
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THE heating pad and painkillers are as key to this 52-year-old's game as the smooth swing and easygoing stride he uses to amble around the course these days.
But before people pass off Freddie Couples and his aching back as nothing more than a nice story for a Friday at the Masters, the co-leader at the midway point wants to clear things up.
"Can I win?" Couples said after turning back the clock and playing his way to a surprising second-round lead at Augusta National in Georgia. "Yeah, I believe I can. Yes."
On a day of sublime, spin-filled shotmaking at his favorite golf course, Couples made seven birdies and shot 5-under 67 to share the lead with PGA runner-up Jason Dufner.
They were to tee off in the final pairing yesterday, one who played the chilly second round in a stocking cap, the other as recognizable to golf fans as Tiger, Phil or Rory, even if that thick shock of hair has morphed from black, to salt-and-pepper, and now all the way to gray.
"Pretty bizarre," Couples said when asked to describe his day.
Well, maybe not that bizarre.
Couples led this tournament after the first round two years ago and was in the top 10 heading into the weekend last year.
After his latest one for the aged, he said he was asked how it felt to have the lowest career scoring average in Masters history, even better than Jack Nicklaus, who in 1986 became the oldest player to win the tournament at 46.
"I said, 'Well, I don't know the last year he played, but his scores kept going up a little bit' and mine will be doing that shortly," Couples said. "But today was not one of those days."
He'll have plenty of company near the top of the leaderboard. It starts with Dufner, who lost a five-shot lead with four holes to play at last year's PGA Championship, then lost in the playoff to Keegan Bradley.
A shot back is a group of five that includes Rory McIlory, looking to atone for his collapse here last year; Lee Westwood, in the running as best player to never win a major; and Sergio Garcia, who once owned that title but has since relinquished it - not because he finally won one, but because his game declined as he moved from his 20s to his 30s.
Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen are the others in the tie for third, with Paul Lawrie, Matt Kuchar and Miguel Angel Jimenez another shot back at 3 under.
Phil Mickelson is lurking at 2-under par after a round of 4-under 68. "Tomorrow will be a critical day," he said.
It will be for Tiger Woods, who opened his second round with two birdies over the first three holes but gave that all back and more. He struggled with his swing for the second straight day and shot 3-over 75 and walked off the course seemingly too frustrated to be frustrated.
But before people pass off Freddie Couples and his aching back as nothing more than a nice story for a Friday at the Masters, the co-leader at the midway point wants to clear things up.
"Can I win?" Couples said after turning back the clock and playing his way to a surprising second-round lead at Augusta National in Georgia. "Yeah, I believe I can. Yes."
On a day of sublime, spin-filled shotmaking at his favorite golf course, Couples made seven birdies and shot 5-under 67 to share the lead with PGA runner-up Jason Dufner.
They were to tee off in the final pairing yesterday, one who played the chilly second round in a stocking cap, the other as recognizable to golf fans as Tiger, Phil or Rory, even if that thick shock of hair has morphed from black, to salt-and-pepper, and now all the way to gray.
"Pretty bizarre," Couples said when asked to describe his day.
Well, maybe not that bizarre.
Couples led this tournament after the first round two years ago and was in the top 10 heading into the weekend last year.
After his latest one for the aged, he said he was asked how it felt to have the lowest career scoring average in Masters history, even better than Jack Nicklaus, who in 1986 became the oldest player to win the tournament at 46.
"I said, 'Well, I don't know the last year he played, but his scores kept going up a little bit' and mine will be doing that shortly," Couples said. "But today was not one of those days."
He'll have plenty of company near the top of the leaderboard. It starts with Dufner, who lost a five-shot lead with four holes to play at last year's PGA Championship, then lost in the playoff to Keegan Bradley.
A shot back is a group of five that includes Rory McIlory, looking to atone for his collapse here last year; Lee Westwood, in the running as best player to never win a major; and Sergio Garcia, who once owned that title but has since relinquished it - not because he finally won one, but because his game declined as he moved from his 20s to his 30s.
Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen are the others in the tie for third, with Paul Lawrie, Matt Kuchar and Miguel Angel Jimenez another shot back at 3 under.
Phil Mickelson is lurking at 2-under par after a round of 4-under 68. "Tomorrow will be a critical day," he said.
It will be for Tiger Woods, who opened his second round with two birdies over the first three holes but gave that all back and more. He struggled with his swing for the second straight day and shot 3-over 75 and walked off the course seemingly too frustrated to be frustrated.
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