Fred Couples birdied the two outward half par fives and parred the rest in the opening round of the PODS Championship. The 2-under 69 leaves him four shots behind first round leader Bart Bryant, although several players were unable to complete their round due to rain.
This is Fred’s second time playing in the PODS Championship – his one other time appearing was in the first edition played in 2000 where he tied for 14th. Tomorrow’s tee time will be pushed back from his 1:00 PM start by at least 1/2 hour and more rain is in the forecast for tomorrow.
Doug Ferguson of the AP writes at length about Fred in his latest offering, including talk about his back.
“I feel good,” Couples said. “I played the four (tournaments), and then I went to see this guy in Waco. He said I looked better than he thought. Obviously, my goal is to play. The best I probably played was at Phoenix, and I missed the cut. And the other tournaments, I did pretty well. So I feel like I’m on track, and my goal is to really be ready for Augusta.”
The “guy in Waco” is John Patterson, a Texas back specialist whose clientele includes Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz and Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady.
Fred also talked briefly about the cut streak at the Masters.
“If the leaders are up here and the cuts are down here, I want to make sure I’m moving way up the ladder,” Couples said. “If I don’t, it will be very disappointing because I’m not there to play well. If I don’t play well and miss the cut, the streak is over, and I’ll be watching TV Saturday and Sunday. But it’s a nice thing. It’s not anything worldly.
“I’m not going to go down as the guy who made however many cuts in a row it is. I’m planning on playing well.”
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“I’m not going to go down as the guy who made however many cuts in a row it is. I’m planning on playing well.”
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Do you suppose he really doesn’t know how many cuts he has made at "The Masters"
Yes. I absolutely believe he has no clue. That’s what makes him so damn cool!
He’d probably say something like "yeah, I’ve made like 21 or 22 cuts in a row…whichever is more"…
He knows. He definitely knows.
LOL….sounds like something Freddie would say.