Here is his a portion of his interview:

PHIL STAMBAUGH: We welcome Fred Couples into the interview room. Fred, coming back to your hometown to play fresh off your victory, first senior major championship at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Last year you finished third here. Just a couple general thoughts about coming back to your hometown to play.

FRED COUPLES: Well, yeah, I’m always excited to come back, as I’ve said a million times. There haven’t been a whole lot of tournaments in Seattle, and it’s just very nice to be up here.

Michelle does a great job, and Boeing is a huge sponsor for us. But for me personally I leave all that aside; it’s just fun to I don’t get to see my family much. For instance, today I play at 1:30 so I’ll be done at I’m guessing 7:00, and then drive back to staying with a buddy, be back there by 8:00, and then you go to bed and do it again tomorrow. So it’s a busy week, but it’s a fun week.

I just think it’s unique to play in your hometown, especially when in my 30 years on TOUR, I think we’ve had a PGA Craig Parry won, whatever that was called, the American Express, and I think that’s it. And then last year the well, and that’s why we had it, so I could come home for a week.

But there are so many great courses up here, but I think after the U.S. Open last year and the support that the tournament got and all the players got, hopefully we can come back here and maybe play a Senior PGA or U.S. Open here pretty soon before I’m done.

For more of the interview, including questions on his hip, his treatment in Germany and the President’s Cup, click here.

Phil Mickelson’s late-season performances haven’t been that great, but they haven’t turned off Fred Couples, the captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Couples and Mickelson have traded a number of text messages in recent weeks, and Mickelson said his committment is strong to play at Harding Park in San Francisco in two weeks.

Asked about Mickelson, Couples responded in a text message that he is firmly behind Mickelson. “I am not worried about Phil, ever,” Couples wrote. “I want him there and he is such a team guy.”

Here we are in the second week of September, less than a month away from the start of The Presidents Cup. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to be this close to heading to Harding Park and getting the matches started.

A lot has happened since early August. Most importantly, the teams are set. We rounded out the squads last week by making our Captain’s Picks in Washington, D.C., at the National Press Club. It was a busy day and included a very special stop, but I will get to that in a minute. Let’s talk about the United States team.

We have a nice blend of players, and I really like some of the potential pairings we could see during the foursomes and four-ball sessions. Jay Haas, my assistant captain, and I have been tossing ideas back and forth regarding pairings.

Obviously when you have a team that includes Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, it makes the captain’s job easier. Steve Stricker is fresh off his third victory of the season and is playing as well as anyone in the world right now. It’s also nice knowing we have a handful of guys with a wealth of match-play experience in international competition.

Players like Kenny Perry, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard have been through these matches before, as well as countless Ryder Cups, and pair nicely with just about everyone on the team. Anthony Kim, one of our two rookies along with Sean O’Hair, cut his teeth in international competition in last year’s Ryder Cup and will provide a spark for this team as well.

As you know, I’ve selected Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan with my two Captain’s Picks. Both have played great all year and have experience in The Presidents Cup after competing at Royal Montreal in 2007. They are two great additions to the team, and I know that they will come to Harding Park ready to compete.

Now, back to our day in Washington last week to announce our Captain’s Picks. The day began with a press conference at the National Press Club, where Greg and I announced our picks. I had made it pretty clear a couple weeks ago that I was leaning toward Lucas and Hunter, but Greg kept everyone in the dark regarding his picks, Ryo Ishikawa and Adam Scott. We answered a few questions from the media regarding why we picked who we did, thoughts on Harding Park and what kind of final preparations we will be making in the last couple of weeks leading up to The Presidents Cup.

After the press conference, we went to the White House for a brief meeting with President Obama, who will serve as Honorary Chairman of The Presidents Cup. We only had a short time with the president given his busy schedule but were able to spend a little more time with Vice President Biden, who is an avid golfer. I do appreciate the president and vice president lending their support to The Presidents Cup, and it was great to hear their enthusiastic support first hand.

With the PGA TOUR Playoffs finishing up at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, my guys will have a chance to get one more week of competitive golf under their belts — and a tough test, at that — and then rest up before we all travel to San Francisco. Like I said before, this has been a long, fun process, and I can’t wait to get things started in a few weeks at Harding Park.

The top 10 U.S. players who earned the most official PGA TOUR money from the 2007 Wyndham Championship through the 2009 PGA Championship (with money earned in 2009 counting as double) automatically made the U.S. Team.

Glover and Mahan are Captain’s Picks for the second consecutive Presidents Cup. In 2007, Glover was 10th going into the PGA Championship, but was knocked down to 11th after Woody Austin’s second-place finish at the season’s final major vaulted him from 18th to 10th in the standings for the U.S. Team. Mahan finished 14th in the standings in 2007.

This year, Glover, the U.S. Open champion, finished No. 11 in the U.S. Team standings after the PGA Championship, and Mahan occupied position No. 13

In addition to his breakthrough major championship victory at Bethpage State Park in June, Glover has four other top-five finishes on his 2009 résumé, including a solo fifth at the PGA Championship. Glover is currently ranked No. 14 in the FedExCup standings and leads the TOUR in total driving and total birdies (341). The U.S. Open was Glover’s second PGA TOUR win, following his victory at the 2005 FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort.

A model of consistency throughout the 2009 season, Mahan is making his second consecutive appearance in The Presidents Cup. He has made 21-of-22 cuts on the year and notched six top 10s, highlighted by a solo second at the AT&T National in July and a T4 at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational last month. Mahan is ranked No. 21 in the FedExCup standings. He’s T4 in PGA TOUR scoring average (69.56) and T4 in total birdies (330). Mahan’s lone PGA TOUR victory came at the 2007 Travelers Championship.

A lot has happened in the world of golf since I last checked in. It’s hard to believe that in less than four months, The Presidents Cup will be underway in San Francisco. Since I last posted, a couple of players I will be counting on heavily at Harding Park have won on the PGA TOUR, some young guys who may be on the squad for the first time have continued to play well and I was able to play some competitive golf along the way too.

From a captain’s perspective, it was nice to see Tiger notch his second victory of the year at the Memorial. He looked stronger than ever, hitting just about every fairway, holing memorable shots from around the green and winning Jack Nicklaus’ tournament for a fourth time.

Speaking of Tiger, it looks like the player he clipped by one shot back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, Sean O’Hair, will be making his Presidents Cup debut. Sean has really shown me a lot for a player who is only 26 years old. Losing to Tiger after taking a five-shot lead into the final round would be a tough pill to swallow for any player on TOUR. However, Sean really showed how tough a competitor he is by bouncing back and besting a world-class field on a great golf course to win the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte back in May. He’s fifth in the standings right now and I’m excited he may be part of the team.

There’s a good chance Sean won’t be the only rookie on the squad in October. Brian Gay posted his second victory of the season in impressive fashion last month in Memphis and has jumped into the top 10 in the standings at No. 8. It’s so hard to win on the PGA TOUR now and for Brian to have won twice already in the manner he did at Hilton Head and Memphis has been great to see.

Though he wouldn’t be a Presidents Cup rookie after competing in 2007 at Royal Montreal, Lucas Glover looked rock solid in that Monday finish at the U.S. Open. He’s moved to No. 12 in the standings and his confidence has to be sky high after that victory.

Speaking of the U.S. Open, I caddied for Michael Jordan in the Golf Digest U.S. Open Challenge the Friday before the U.S. Open. As you probably know, Michael is one of my Assistant Captains for The Presidents Cup. We had a great time, with Michael playing well on the back nine after a tough front side at Bethpage Black.

I’m excited about the balance our team may have between young, up-and-coming players and seasoned veterans. I held a meeting with the players who are in contention to make the U.S. Presidents Cup Team back at THE PLAYERS Championship in May to discuss a few things with the guys. It was great to get everyone together, answer some of their questions — and ask some of my own.

On a personal note, I’ve actually been able to put together a couple of nice tournaments over the past couple months. It’s been great for me as a player, but I also think it’s beneficial in my role as captain as I get a front row seat to observe some of the players competing for a spot on the U.S. Team.

This week’s AT&T National at Congressional will be my first tournament since mid-May, so hopefully I can keep the good rounds coming. I always love coming to Congressional. The golf course is great and I broke through for my first PGA TOUR victory here back at the 1983 Kemper Open.

The U.S. Open is already in the rearview mirror and it will be October before we know it. That’s it for now. Enjoy your summer and I will check back with you next month.

For a unique insight into Fred’s life, Golf Digest posted a memorable interview with Fred and caddie Joe LaCava by Bob Verdi yesterday leading up to this week’s PLAYERS.

The Players Championship is played at TPC Sawgrass, designed by Pete Dye. The course plays over 7,200 yards at a par of 72 and opened in 1980.

TV this week:
Thu, 5/7: Golf Channel 1-7
Fri, 5/8: Golf Channel 1-7
Sat, 5/9: NBC 2-7
Sun, 5/10: NBC 2-7

Official site: PGATour.com | Tickets

Defending Champion: Sergio Garcia (-5)

Standing on the 70th hole, Fred Couples was clinging to a one shot lead over Paul Casey, who was two holes behind him, and JB Holmes, who had finished earlier in the day. To say the course conditions were difficult would be a huge understatement. Unfortunately for Fred, the last three holes would be the difference maker. He bogeyed all three.

Much like the Northern Trust Open earlier in the year, Fred still had a chance on the 18th to get himself into what would eventually be a playoff at -11. Although, it would have taken birdie at a hole that was playing more than a stroke over par because it was playing dead into a stiff breeze. Unfortunately, a wayward drive into a bunker left Fred no choice by to simply try and advance the ball as far as he could.

The round really went south, though, on the par 5 13th hole. Fred sat at -12 and really had an opportunity to get a couple of shots on the field with the par 5 13th and 15th in preparation for the difficult finishing holes. Couples hit two very good shots on the 13th, leaving him just over 50 feet for eagle. Unfortunately, a stubbed chip led to a par. It was quite obvious that hole really hurt Fred’s confidence. Johnny Miller, commenting on Fred just prior to the stubbed chip, said that Fred would need a two or three stroke cushion going into 16 to win. How right Miller was.

Fred finished in third place, two shots behind Paul Casey and J.B. Holmes, who tied at -11. Paul Casey went on to win in a playoff.

While it’s certainly disappointing – it would help if Fred would stop thinking that he can’t win on tour anymore – it certainly was a huge improvement over the week prior. That’s got to be a big boost to his confidence going into the Masters.

Fred’s final round interview:

Q. Fred Couples, the you beat the field scoring average. I know you’re disappointed. How do you look at it?

FRED COUPLES: I am disappointed. I felt like I needed a couple birdies, I made bogey the last three holes. I’m happy with the way I played. Obviously, a lot of people out there supporting me, but I just couldn’t make any — too tough.

Q. It came down to the numbers because the way I looked at it, you played 28 holes yesterday, 26 today. A lot of golf for two days. Are you tired?

FRED COUPLES: I wasn’t tired on 16 waiting to putt. Then after I 3-putted I got a little more tired. Bogeyed 17 I was exhausted, now I’m finished. You know, they’re hard holes. But I haven’t played 54 holes in that short of span in a long time. I’m pretty tired. My back is holding up, so I think it’s nice.

Q. What about the emotions? You mentioned it before we talked about this yesterday. Coming out here, you told me that no matter what you do, they’re going to cheer for you out here.

At any point does the emotion get in the way when you come to a place like Houston where you have so many connections?

FRED COUPLES: No, not really. It did when I won. If I would have won again today, it would have been good. Main thing for me, even I come here, I have, thank God, lots of people follow me around — not as many as I used to — pretty loud. “Go Cougars, Cougars, Cougars, Cougars.” It was pretty fun for about 70 holes. There’s no way I could have birdied 17 and 18.

Q. Another place you play well Augusta. Give us some kind sense what you expect for yourself next week.

FRED COUPLES: Well, you know, I felt pretty good about my swing. I worked on it pretty hard for the last seven days since I got into town with Paul, and I think if I get a few practice rounds, I know it’s going to be cold, so I’m going to kind of hopefully get ready.

It was good today. I wish it wasn’t quite that hard because I think I could have maybe done a little better without the wind, but I got it around and I look forward to next week. It’s my all-time favorite place.

Q. You and everybody else. Fred, that was a very, very difficult golf course today.

FRED COUPLES: Yeah, it was awfully hard. Lot of left to right winds for me. I got the ball around very, very well today. I made a bad bogey on the 8th hole, the par 5, and, you know, that took a little wind out of me, but I birdied 10 and got it going.

I knew J.B. was in the clubhouse, and I had a lot of holes left. I made a blunder on the other par 5, 13th, 14th hole, whatever it is, and I had a very easy chip for eagle or birdie and I made par. You know, the last holes are hard. Didn’t play them very well.

Q. 13th hole is a par 5. You played an awful lot of golf this week. Because of the wind situation on Thursday, you essentially played 54 holes on Saturday and Sunday. Was fatigue a factor at all?

FRED COUPLES: Actually, I’m tired now. It worked out in a good way because I played a lot of golf and I played pretty well. I didn’t make any bogies yesterday and this wind today.

You know, like I said, I hit a horrible drive on 8. Let the wind get it. When you’ve got 5, 6-footers for par, you’re not going to make them all.

Q. Good luck.

FRED COUPLES: Thank you.

Q. You mentioned after The Masters you may not play again until the Champions Tours. Does it make it more likely or less likely on days like this?

FRED COUPLES: There’s a lot of tournaments I’m not going to play. I’m going to play in TPC, and you know, two other ones, but I’m going to take a lot of time off.

You know, it was fun. I played horrible last week. I came down here and worked on my game, and Paul gave me a lot of help, and I hit the ball well for four days. Even today it was — it’s disappointing to not hit a few shots when you have to, but other than that, I got it around nicely, and it kind of makes me want to play. I’m playing next week, so I’ll be excited by Augusta.

Q. Fred, how much does it help when everyone is cheering for you after every hole?

FRED COUPLES: Yeah. It doesn’t help me when you’re 240 into a left-to-right wind, you can’t reach the green on the par 4. But it’s always fun. Going to school here was a blessing. It’s where I really learned how to play and become a good player.

Coming back, I think I missed it a couple years, but now I have Champions Tour event to come back and play in The Woodlands. I’m sure I’ll have more people again.

Q. You talked yesterday about how this wind just takes such a mental and physical toll. Did it finally catch up with you?

FRED COUPLES: I think, you know, I knew J.B. Holmes was in the clubhouse, and I knew I had — not birdieing the 13th hole was a huge, huge mistake. Couple other good shots I hit in there. I bogeyed the last three holes. They were hard, and it’s a tough course out there.

But for 69 holes I think I lead the tournament for a little bit of it, and it’s a good feeling. I’m really tired. 54 holes in the last couple days really killed me, but at the same time, I played a lot of golf and I played well.

So I kept it going. But the finish is very sour but, you know, from where I’ve been playing, it’s pretty good.

Q. You realize two Top-5 finishes on the PGA Tour for a guy who says he’s ready for the Champions Tour.

FRED COUPLES: Yeah. I know. I get a little down on the way I’m playing. Actually, I think maybe I think I’m better than I really am. I know I can play golf like anybody else, but I think I should do it more often. If I could play like this, it’s certainly more entertaining, that’s for sure, but I’m ready for the Champions Tour. There’s no doubt. I will have much more fun trying to go through that.

Q. You have a date next week?

FRED COUPLES: I’ll go to Augusta with bells on. My favorite spot.

Q. Freddie, you weren’t sure if you’d get through today. You got through pretty good?

FRED COUPLES: I did alright. We only went nine more. For some reason I thought we’d tee off earlier and get 15, 16 holes. But I’m dead, and the last couple holes actually hit great shots on 9 and 10. And I’m glad we stopped right there and come out tomorrow. And it’s a good thing because we’re going to play a lot of holes. If I play well, that will be a good thing.

Q. You’re just one off the lead and gave yourself a lot of birdie opportunities today.

FRED COUPLES: I did. You know, I can’t complain. I’m at least putting better, but this morning, you know, I left a few 4- and 5-footers out there, which is normal, and this afternoon in nine holes I played very solid and birdied both par-5s and ended up birdieing the 10th hole.

Q. Final thing, talk about going into tomorrow with a chance here.

FRED COUPLES: Well, you know, when I won in 2003 I hadn’t won in a while, but just with the people yelling, Houston Cougar this and Cougar that, and today even 7:30 at night there’s still a lot of people. Tomorrow will be lot of fun. I seem to be playing better. It’s not an easy course, so I’ve got to go out and be sharp.

Q. Thank you.

FRED COUPLES: Alright.

Fred also brought back the visor, which has been missing for nearly two years. Once a staple of the Fred Couples persona, the visor disappeared after the 2007 Masters.

Fred post round interview is below.

Q. You’re playing well.

FRED COUPLES: I had a good day. You know, a good course. I played well last year. I like the shape of the course and my key today was a couple very good driving holes. I hit two great drives and played a few of the hard holes one, 2-under. That’s the key to this golf course. I didn’t — I didn’t birdie any par-5s but the other ones, I did well and 4-under is a good score.

Q. You got an all star cast out here this week, biggest galleries following Fred Couples.

FRED COUPLES: I don’t know about that. I went to school here, saw a few Cougars that come out and watched and it’s a good feeling and we had a great tee time. Yesterday we were out with a big gallery, too. They went home disappointed. 80 degrees and sunny, lot of wind and we walked off the course because we couldn’t keep the ball from rolling on the green. That was probably a blessing although I was 1-under but I didn’t want to play too many more holes yesterday. It was too tough.

Q. You said this is one place and The Masters where you think you can still come putt and obviously you’re showing it.
FRED COUPLES: Well, there are a few places. I mean Riviera is another one and I did well. If I said that to myself every week I’d probably do better but, you know, there are some courses out here that are awfully hard and I still play them but this is the kind of course, it’s not high rough, I putt pretty well on really fast greens and, you know, I have some confidence around here. It’s a good feeling to play and plus going to school here, how can you beat that? You come back and play. If you’re shooting 80, they’re rooting for you. If you shoot 68, they’re rooting for you.

It was cool and a little breezy today. Maybe four holes into it it really turned out to be beautiful out there today. One of the good things is the greens were pretty soft and, you know they were perfect. The golf course is great. Yesterday was pretty brutal and to be 1-under when we stopped was truly a good feeling and today to go out and make some birdies out there, it was good. I hit the ball pretty solid and I would say got it around nicely.

Q. Are the greens still running fairly fast?

FRED COUPLES: They’re fast, yeah.

Q. Just a little bit softer?

FRED COUPLES: Yeah.

Q. Where did you finish yesterday?

FRED COUPLES: Finished on the — was on the 17th tee.

Q. So you didn’t have to play?

FRED COUPLES: No, I was on the tee.

Q. Talk a little bit in the contrast of the playing conditions. Today seems like a very perfect today.

FRED COUPLES: Yes. Well, obviously. Yesterday was sunny and windy and they pulled us off the course. So, you know, it just got too gusty and the greens were too fast and balls were rolling and there was no wind yesterday, it would be the same as today, perfect weather. Just unfortunate that many people came out to watch yesterday and we had to go off the course. Where as today, the huge galleries and it will be spectacular.

Q. You think guys playing in the afternoon who didn’t play at all do they have a slight advantage?

FRED COUPLES: What would you think?

Q. I would think.

FRED COUPLES: Very good. Very good. I don’t think you need to ask that question. I would say 1-under par on my pairing is in about fifth place. That will be in 30th place by the end of the day. It happens.
So, tomorrow, you know we’ll get another early tee time and instead of playing at 1:00 I’ll play at 8:30. That’s a boon, too. The scoring is going to be way better in the afternoon, morning or they’re going to play all day today.

Q. This is the course — you obviously won on the other one. You’ve got to feel comfortable here. You’ve had a good tournament. Is it kind of carrying over? Do you feel comfortable here?

FRED COUPLES: I like the course. As they say, they have it set-up like Augusta. That would be not much rough and really fast greens and there’s a lot of key driving holes. I felt like last year I didn’t make too many blunders. I made some bogies and then today I hit some — a beautiful drive on 18 and the 5th I birdied. To play those two holes 1-under you’re probably picking up two shots on the field. I got it around nicely. Those were a couple scary tee balls especially for me and I hit two good ones. Lot of it is facing it and the way your eye looks at it. It’s not an easy course, that’s for sure. You can make bogies and doubles on a lot of holes. Guys do well, probably play those tough holes pretty well.

Q. What do you do the rest of the day? You have to play 36 tomorrow?

FRED COUPLES: No, just 18. Actually, no, what am I saying? We’ll play 18 and have a cut and play another 18. I keep thinking today is Thursday. I’m going to go hit some balls for an hour, hour and a half and, you know, go back at 2:00 and rest. Thirty-six holes tomorrow. That will be a jolt for me.

Q. Is that for sure?

FRED COUPLES: We’re going to find out.

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