As he made the turn, he birdied the first and second holes moving back to even for the day and well inside the cut line. With just one player under par, +6 was actually still in the championship. However, Fred would bogey 5, 7 and 8 pushing him to +9 and outside the top 70 and ties that will make the cut.

Fred’s next match may not be until he goes to Germany to play in the Mercedes-Benz Championships in mid-September. However, Fred will qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, but he has yet to indicate if he’ll participate in the playoffs.

Couples made 7 bogeys on the day, including an opening stretch where Fred bogeyed four of the first seven holes. Fred would get one shot back at the par four 15th, making his only birdie of the day.

Since the first round did not complete, the second round tee times might be slightly delayed.

Jason Sobel from ESPN is also cheering for Fred to appear on the leaderboard.

Although this week’s winner won’t be a certain guy clad in a red Nike shirt on Sunday, don’t be surprised if it’s another top-10 type. Here’s one guarantee: The tourney won’t lack for story lines. OK, so Norman, who led through 54 holes and finished T-3 at the British, declined his invitation to participate this week. That doesn’t mean other blasts from the past — Fred Couples, anyone? Or maybe Colin Montgomerie? — can’t scrape their way up the leaderboard.

David Berlin from FoxNews is also expecting big things from Fred this week.

Then there’s the “old guy” who out of nowhere gets in contention. It was Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines and then Greg Norman at Royal Birkdale. I’m looking for Fred Couples to have a strong showing. Since missing his first-ever cut at the Masters, he’s actually played fairly well, although on a limited schedule with three top-20 finishes. If his back holds up, he could make some noise come Sunday.

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This could be Fred’s last PGA Championship. At the age of 48, Fred will likely need another special exemption next year to make the field unless his play turns around and he is so inclined to play enough to qualify. It is for this reason that fans should relish this special opportunity as Fred enters the final stages of his PGA Tour career before heading off to the Champions Tour.

It’s hard to believe that Fred played his first PGA Championship 28 years ago. He opened his first PGA Championship with a 67 – good enough for third place after one round. He found himself four shots back of eventual winner Ray Floyd. Fred would finish in a tie for third in Tulsa at Southern Hills. Fred would cash a check for $27,500 for the effort that week.

Fred missed the last major at Oakland Hills – the 1996 US Open won by Steve Jones. He did play in the 1985 US Open at Oakland Hills, where he finished in a tie for 39th place. He did open strong that year – a first round 66 left him just a shot back of first round leader T.C. Chen. However, a second round 78 dropped Fred well back and he would eventually shoot 290, +10.

Fred will face a much different golf course this week. Oakland Hills played a mere 6,996 yards back then. This year, the official yardage will be just under 7,400 yards. Like many old beauties, this “monster” has faced the surgeon’s knife a number of times just in the last 23 years. For all intents and purposes, this is a brand new course. Except for those greens – the greens that led Ben Hogan to coin the now infamous nickname of “the Monster” for the course.

So, in what may be Fred’s last PGA Championship, Fred will attempt to bring this monster to its knees. For his fans, it will be at least one more chance in the sun setting career for Fred to land that elusive second major and solidly and unquestionably etch his legacy in golf’s history. It would be a fitting win for the man who has dawned the logo of one of Detroit’s stalwarts for years, capturing his second major and solidifying himself as a sure bet in the Hall of Fame.

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Couples appearance in the season’s final major is the first since 2006. He didn’t play in 2004 or 2002 either. Fred has not fared well in the PGA Championship -his best finish, and only finish inside the top 20, since his second place finish in Alabama in 1990 was his 13th place finish in his hometown in 1998.

That Fred will have played in just two of the four majors this year is a reminder how much his fans should appreciate what are likely Fred’s final competitive rounds in most of the majors, save Augusta, in the next couple of years. Oakland Hills will be a “monster”, but at least Captain America will have a chance to slay the beast.

Fred finished nine shots behind winner Chez Reavie. The final round 68 was Fred’s best round of the week.

Below is a video shot by OttowaGolfBlog at YouTube of Fred and Mike Weir on the range.

Also, rumor has it from Fred Fan djeast that Golf Central is reporting that a special exemption has been extended to Fred Couples for the PGA Championship. More will be posted when available.

Playing with Sergio Garcia (-3) and Ernie Els (-1),�Fred got off to a very good start carding two consecutive birdies at the par-4 4th hole and the par-5 5th hole. The man however made two bogeys on the way home, to arrive at the difficult par-4 18th even par for tha day. After a bad drive, Couples hit a wonderful sliced shot from 200+ yards that landed on the fringe, 40 feet away from the hole. He then made the birdie putt for a first loop of 71 (-1)

Fred’s back seems to be fine so far this week. As usual, Couples is doing a lot of stretching on the course, but it looks like the situation is under control. Fred never gave up today, and fought back after dropping to even par on the back side. If he can somehow manage to destroy the par-5′s like his good friend Davis Love III did on thursday, Couples could be in a very interesting position tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Starting his second round on the first hole, Couples played great golf on the front side, carding two birdies to get back to even par for the championship. Then, after another birdie that put him into red figures, the man dropped five shots between holes 11 and 17, to quickly fall to +5. One shot shy of the cut line with one last hole to play, Couples birdied the par-5 by making a 2-foot putt for birdie.

According to some fans who attented the first two days, Fred’s score does not reflect the way he played. The man hit the ball very well, but seemed to be bothered by the heat as his round was progressing. On both days, Fred started off real strong, but found trouble on the back side.

With two more rounds to go, Fred must try to climb up the leaderboard as far as possible, since his performance will probably affect Jack Nicklaus’ decision regarding the Captain’s picks for the upcomming Presidents Cup. While a top 10 would be ideal, a top 20 could probably go a long way for Fred.

On saturday, Fred will play with good friend Mike Weir and will tee off at 08:30 AM, Eastern Time.

After his round, Couples commented on the “fairness” of the course, saying that the par-5 17th hole measuring 650 yards could be reached in two by some players.

This week’s PGA Championship is crucial in many ways. First of all, a good performance at this tournament could probably mean a selection on the Presidents Cup team. Indeed, Couples’ stats so far are quite impressive, but his selection is still uncertain. Fred is currently 17th in the world, 17th in Presidents Cup points and 29th on the money list. While a win would obviously catapult Fred atop the money list, a top 10 or even a top 15 could go a long way, since points associated with major tournaments are usually worth a lot more.

Pairings

Fred will go off one group ahead of Tiger Woods during the first two days. The man will play with Darren Clarke and Shingo Katayama Here are the tee times.

Thursday – 10th hole – 08:15 AM
Friday – 1st hole – 13:20 PM

Stay tuned !

Fred Couples has become the latest big name to withdraw from this week’s US PGA Championship.

A recurrence of back trouble has forced the 1992 Masters Champion out of action, and the former world number one joins a growing brigade of A-list players who won’t make the first tee on Thursday.

Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, Retief Goosen and Nick Price from South Africa and Zimbabwe as well as Americans Jeff Maggert and Tom Watson are among nine players to withdraw over recent weeks because of injury of personal reasons.

Another American, Ben Crane, comes in for Couples who misses out on a final chance of picking up points that would have earned him a place in the Ryder Cup later in the year.