AUGUSTA - Fred Couples made some derogatory comments about fellow Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson recently but said Monday he doesn’t expect any fallout if he runs into either man or any member of the competing LIV Golf tour this week at Augusta National.
Couples referred to Garcia as a “clown” during the PGA Tour Champions Hoag Classic. At the same function he referred to Mickelson as a “nutbag.” Couples will see both men at Tuesday’s champions dinner.
“If anyone wants to stop and ask why I’m picking on them, then I’m all for it, but I don’t really think I’ve done anything horrific,” Couples said. “They’re making comments and I’m replying to them. That’s it.”
Couples seems to have taken it personally that some of the game’s top players jumped to LIV Golf. He hasn’t been shy to express his feelings in personal appearances or on his monthly radio show on Sirius XM.
“I have no problem with any of them, but please do not bash a tour that I have 43 years invested in,” Couples said of the PGA Tour “It bothers the hell out of me. They don’t bother me. They really don’t. They’re golfers. I’m a golfer. I respect them all.
“Sergio is one of the top 10 players I’ve ever seen hit a ball, but if he’s going to make comments about the tour that I play, I’m going to make a comment back. And if it’s offensive, I apologize, but they’re on another tour. Go play and have a good time.”
At the recent LIV event in Tucson, Mickelson refused to take the bait when asked about Couples’ comments and replied, “We’ve been friends for a lot of years. That’s all I’ll really say.”
At the same event, Garcia said, “I think at the end of the day, his life is his life and my life is my life. So I don’t think he should comment on what me or any of these other guys should have done, because we didn’t tell him what he had to do.”
LIV attire in plain sight
If you thought LIV Golf wouldn’t have a presence at the Masters - beyond the 18 participants who play the Saudi-based tour - think again.
Dustin Johnson played a practice round at Augusta National on a chilly and overcast Monday. He did so wearing a light blue vest with the logo of this LIV Golf team - 4 Aces GC.
Johnson captains the LIV Golf team that inclues Patrick Reed, another Masters winner and participant.
Asked Monday how many players were going to wear team shirts, Johnson had a quick answer.
“Whoever wears them,’ he said. “Yeah, I mean, I’m just going to wear the Aces.”
Columbus connection
Ben Carr has come to Augusta - and he has friends.
The Georgia Southern senior earned an invitation to the Masters as the U.S. Amateur runner-up. So it was natural that he played a practice round on Monday with some fellow members of the Country Club of Columbus. You may have heard of them. Larry Mize and Russell Henley. Mize, of course, is a former Masters championship. Henley has played in several Masters.
“It’s awesome “ Carr said of his practice round. “I think it really made the whole day a lot easier, just learning from them and kind of following them and just trying not to do anything wrong out here. But, yeah, it was super cool to be able to warm up with them on the range and then walk over here. I think it made me a little less nervous, it being my first day with the patrons. But it was really cool.”
The three plan to play in the Par-3 Tournament together on Wednesday.
Destination: Gift shop
It wasn’t long after the gates of Augusta National opened to spectators for Monday’s practice rounds that the line for the gift shop already naked through guide ropes at the entrance and well down the path leading to the course.
Overheard from an intrepid fan standing in line: “I heard that it took one person two hours to get in.”
One of the big attractions appears to be this year’s version of the garden gnome. We’ll let you know what it looks like when the line gets mcuh shorter.
Drive, Chip and Putt
Narah Kim, of Duluth, finished tied for second in her division of the Drive, Chip and Putt national finals held at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.
Kim, an eighth grader at Greater Atlanta Christian School, totaled 22 points in the Girls 12-13 division.
Hudson Justus, of Gainesville, finished eighth in the Boys 10-11 division.
Grace Outhavong, from Hampton, finished 10th in the Girls 14-15 division.
-Stan Awtrey and Chris Vivlamore contributed to this report.
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