The Masters celebrates its history more than any other sports event, which can lead to both charming traditions and somewhat silly ones.
The charming: Ceremonial tee shots by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, followed by standard old-man quips like this one from Player on Thursday: “I think Jack outdrove me by a yard or two, but it’s not bad when you think he used to outdrive me by 50.”
The silly: Augusta National bestows the “Golden Ticket” to Masters winners, allowing them a free pass for all future drives up Magnolia Lane. It doesn’t matter if you’re 62 years old like Ben Crenshaw and you’ve missed six consecutive cuts and 14 of the past 16. Or Ian Woosnam and you haven’t won a PGA Tour event in 23 years. Or Craig Stadler and you haven’t broken par in 29 rounds and, frankly, you just look like a schlep.
Once Masters royalty, always Masters royalty. Even if the green jacket might have gravy stains.
Fred Couples officially is in this club. But if there is any former champion who’s still deserving of this rollover invitation, it’s Couples.
The 54-year-old Couples stood out among his creeky bone peers in Thursday’s opening round of the Masters. He hung a red number on the board, birding two holes on the front nine and settling for a 1-under-71, three shots behind leader Bill Haas and just off the leaderboard.
“I’m not going to come out here (Friday) and worry if some guy is 7 under because there’s nothing I can do about that,” Couples said. “I love this course. I just have to come out here and keep playing, and when that day stops, then I can be a sacrificial lamb around here and walk around. But me personally, I think I can come out here and play this course.”
There are no shortage of the lambs in Augusta. Among those in the 97-player field — for two rounds, anyway — are Crenshaw (62 years old, 11 over), Stadler (60, 10 over), Tom Watson (64, 6 over), Woosnam (56, 5 over), Sandy Lyle (56, 4 over), Mark O’Meara (57, 3 over), Vijay Singh (51, 3 over), Larry Mize (55, 2 over) and Bernard Langer (56, even par).
The only other 50-year-old in the tournament is Miguel Angel Jimenez. But he never has won the Masters. He qualified with accomplishments more recent than in the roaring ’20s. He finished in the top 50 of the world ranking last year.
Asked if he could win this tournament, Jimenez said, “Anybody who is here can win the tournament.”
Cute. But not really.
Augusta National used to be more over-50 friendly, but the added length in recent years changed that. Age also affects conditioning (even if golf isn’t considered the most exerting sport) and attention span.
“As you get older, mentally, you’re not quite as precise for as long a period of time out there,” O’Meara said.
But Couples has been bucking the Masters trend, at least early. He has made the cut the past four years and shot over par in just four of 16 rounds. The problems have come over the weekend, when back pain often sets in. In 2012, he shot 72-67 in the first two rounds, then 75 on Saturday. In 2013, he went 68-71, then 77.
One significant difference between Couples and other older players: He actually gets pumped to play here. The others seemed to get pumped only for the ego rush of being seen on campus and eating lunch with the beautiful people.
“Can a 50-year-old win here? I think so. I’m one of them,” Couples said. “Bernhard Langer and I last year played really well. It’s hard for me personally to play a course this hard day after day after day for four solid rounds. But my goal is to compete with these guys and not really worry about them.
“It’s nice to see Adam (Scott) and Rory (McIlroy). If they play well I can’t beat them. But if I play well I can compete with them. Maybe with nine holes to go, I hit four unbelievable shots and do something good. But that hasn’t happened yet.”
Couples won the Masters in 1992. McIlroy was 2 years old. Rickie Fowler, who’s tied with Couples at 1 under, was three.
“The golf ball doesn’t know how old you are,” Fowler said. “He’s always on the leaderboard here early, and sometimes he hangs around. He’s obviously played well here and played here a lot, so there’s no reason why he can’t keep putting up good numbers.”
Couples spends most of his year on the Champions tour. The competition is lighter. The courses are easier. The tournaments are shorter (three days).
“On the Champions tour, you’re still trying to win,” Couples said. “But out here, you have to hit shot after shot after shot, and when you don’t, you make bogeys. It’s harder to play well every day, every hole because I’m no longer 35 years old.”
But on a Thursday in Augusta, he didn’t look it.
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