DUBLIN, Ohio — It wasn’t as if Fred Couples, at age 53 and in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, wanted a piece of Tiger Woods when he asked to be paired with him at this week’s Memorial at Muirfield Village.
But in yesterday’s opening round, he got a piece of the No. 1 player in the world.
“He kicked my [butt],’’ Woods said, referring to Couples’ 2-under-par 70 to his 71.
“He’s my all-time favorite,’’ Couples said. “I won’t lie to you, I asked to see if I could get paired [with Woods]. It might be my last time playing with Tiger. Maybe at Augusta I might get paired with him. So I was blessed to play with him. My goal when I play with him always is to try to hit it solid and stay out of his way. And [yesterday] was a good one.’’
Couples, who will captain the U.S. Presidents Cup team in the fall at Muirfield Village, said, “I can shoot free throws with Michael Jordan, who is a friend, but I can’t do anything else with him. I can play golf with him, [but] that’s not the same. In golf, [Woods] is our best player, and I play on the Champions Tour, so I rarely get to see him.’’
Couples barely practiced on Wednesday because he went to the White House, where he met with President Obama for 20 minutes as part of the Presidents Cup run-up.
He said he was so concerned about how he would perform yesterday because “I’ve not been playing any golf’’ that “I sent [Woods] a text and said, ‘Do you really want me in this group? I’ve played no golf.’ You’re nervous playing with him, but I was more nervous, because I’ve not played. So to go through all that … I did beat him.’’
It’s been quite a run for Couples, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame last month.
“I got to meet the President, I’m sitting down doing an interview with Jack [Nicklaus] and I played with Tiger,’’ he said. “Hard to top that. What’s next?’’
* Charl Schwartzel, the tournament leader after the first round at 7-under par, changed his putting grip on the 13th hole, his fifth of the round, by placing his right index finger down the shaft of the putter.
“I’ve been tinkering with grip, holding the putter,’’ he said. “I haven’t been putting that great since Byron Nelson or for quite a bit of time of the year, but hitting the ball good. I started off the same thing [yesterday] morning, flushed it for the first four holes and two”‘-putted for birdie on 11, hit it to four feet on 13, looked like I was going to go 2”‘-under and I made bogey.
“I went to the next hole, changed the grip and they started pouring in. So it worked.’’
* Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old amateur sensation from China, shot an even-par 72 with bogeys on two of his last three holes. … Nick Watney shot the highest score of the day, a shocking 82.