I’ve been a fan of Fred Couples since he came on tour. Since then, he has remained one of my favorite players to watch. He’s had his ups and downs over the years and while not always at the top of the leader board, he has had many, many exceptional moments of sheer brilliance, especially around the green. Along with Phil Mickelson in particular, there are few I enjoy watching strike a finesse chip more than Fred. I’ve always admired the ease with which he seems to execute the shot, whether it‘s from sand or grass. Tiger isn’t too shabby from just off the green either, as Chris DiMarco (and the world) found out on #16 at the 2005 Masters.

Couples has always appeared to be one of the nice guys on the PGA to me. Oh, I saw him come apart once on camera after a very nasty break in a tight match. He was 50 yards from the fans, in a patch of desert with just his caddy and the camera/sound people and the camera picked up his displeasure with an unlucky bounce. However, I don’t think he is known as one who provides full time work for a network language censor. He seems popular with the fans lucky enough to be on the course, and I’ve never heard an announcer express anything other than respect for his as a person.

It was nice to watch Fred finish so high this week end and hopefully get a momentum kick going into Augusta.