This week marked the final Masters Tournament for Bernhard Langer, but Fred Couples feels he has at least one more in him.
Both Langer and Couples were on track to make the cut late in the second round Friday before missteps down the stretch drove them to 3-over 147 and 4-over 148, respectively. The cut line landed at 2 over par.
It was Langer’s 41st start at the Masters and Couples’ 40th. Couples, who bogeyed three of his final five holes, was disappointed with his result but already has designs on returning to Augusta National Golf Club next year, when he’ll be 66.
“Well, sure, I’m playing next year for sure, yeah,” Couples said. “I made that — they made that clear they wanted me to come back, so I’m coming back next year.
“Again, as soon as I get in that car and drive out Magnolia Lane and come back tomorrow and have a nice lunch, I’ll be fine. But I’m not out there to — the goal is to make the cut at my age. I didn’t, and I’m kind of spinning my wheels thinking just why it was so mediocre.”
The 1992 champion’s week got off to a stellar start Thursday when he shot a 1-under 71, becoming the second-oldest player to shoot a round under par at the Masters. Only Tom Watson was older when he did so in 2015.
Couples’ first round included a hole-out eagle at the par-4 14th from nearly 200 yards. But he shot a 5-over 77 on Friday with six bogeys against just one birdie.
At the par-5 15th, he pulled his drive far left into the trees.
“Obviously on 15 I hit the worst drive I’ve hit in 20 years,” he quipped afterward.
“This place is hard when (the wind) blows,” he added. “I mean, it wasn’t — it was not good. It was not awful. I could have shot 73 and I could have shot 80. How about that? And I kind of shot right in between because I made a couple putts.
“But I’m not upset about anything. I tried as hard as I could, and let me tell you, it’s a hard course.”
Couples said he appreciates the things that have remained the same at Augusta National over his four decades.
“You know what stays the same is the patrons, the people who come out and watch. There’s 30,000 of them every day we play,” he said. “The egg salad sandwiches I think are still $2. That’s my favorite sandwich. The greens are still lightning fast and they’re going to get them rock hard (Saturday).”
The Masters is not just any tournament to Couples. It’s underselling it to call it his favorite of the four majors.
“… Other people can say, ‘Hey, I’m from Scotland, the British Open is the greatest.’ The Masters is the greatest tournament of all time. It’s just so unique.”
–Field Level Media
