AUGUSTA, Ga. –When Fred Couples won the 1992 Masters, he did so mainly because his tee shot at the par-3 12th hole miraculously stopped before it could roll back into Rae’s Creek. He had no such luck yesterday.
Now 50, his bid to become the oldest player to win the Masters died when his tee shot at the same hole hit the bank and bounced back into the water. He took double bogey on the hole, dropping to 7-under. He finished the day at 9-under, a distant seven strokes behind Phil Mickelson.
“I figured that with an 8-iron I could go right for the pin on 12, knowing that I was five behind Phil at the time,” Couples said. “I just didn’t hit it very good and it just didn’t carry. It was not a good shot.”
A three-time winner on the Champions Tour, Couples led the first round of the Masters with a 66. Wearing his ECCO Casual Cool golf shoes, Couples was the picture of cool confidence throughout the week, and looked like he was making an early charge yesterday with birdies on the second and third holes. He made the turn at 10-under after a short birdie putt at the ninth, but a bogey at the 11th, where he couldn’t get up and down, and the disaster at the 12th ruined his effort.
“I have a game that’s suited to this course and what it means right now is I’m really disappointed in a few shots,” Couples said. “But at the same time I’m glad to finish it out.”
“The first day, leading Augusta at age 50, shooting 66, that stood out,” he added. “The chip-in [Saturday for eagle] on 15, getting that roar. . . . It was really four good days. It was a lot of fun.”