AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Fred Couples had played mediocre golf by his standards the past four years, and while the 1992 champion had come close to making the cut at the Masters on one occasion, he hadn’t played the weekend since 2018.
Well, Couples got to play Saturday. Then keep playing when he finally made the cut.
The 63-year-old fan favorite had to finish his second round, which was suspended Friday because of the weather, and ended up 1 over for the championship. That was good enough to make the cut, which came at 3 over, and for Couples to break the mark for oldest player at the Masters set by Bernhard Langer during the 2020 tournament.
“That was my objective, and I did it,” Couples said, before adding: “It’s not like, ‘Ha, ha, ha. Now I can screw around and play 36 holes for fun.’ I’m going to try and compete. Play a good pairing with some younger guys and watch them play.”
Couples has made 31 cuts at the Masters, trailing only the 37 that Jack Nicklaus made during his career. At one point, he made 23 straight to tie the record set by Gary Player, and which was equaled by Tiger Woods later Saturday.
“I feel like here I can compete with myself to make the cut,” said Couples, who had fallen to 4 over with nine holes to play in his third round when play was suspended for the day Saturday. “I can’t compete with Viktor Hovland or Jon Rahm or anybody, but I can compete with myself, and that’s really why I come. That’s what I like to do is make the cut here.”
