It is hard to steal the spotlight from the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the golf course. Fred Couples found a way to do it with a brilliant second-round performance at the Masters on Friday, April 6. Couples played his way into a tie atop the leaderboard and now has golf fans wondering if he has enough left in the tank to etch his name in Masters lore the way Jack Nicklaus did almost two decades ago.
Couples shot 5-under 67 to move into a first place tie with Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Jason Dufner. He made seven birdies, starting on the 3rd hole, to climb into contention. Three of those birdies came on the seventh, eight and ninth holes to close out a strong front nine. Couples' second-round score matched the second round score he posted in 1992 when he won the Masters and claimed his one major victory on the PGA Tour.
It isn't the first time that Couples has defied his age and made some noise in the early rounds at Augusta. Two years ago, Couples shot a 6-under 66 in the opening round. He faded when he shot a 3-over 75 the following day. Last year, Couples was 5-under through the first two rounds before dropping back into pack on Saturday.
Lee Westwood enabled Couples to seize the spotlight by losing the lead on the 18th hole. Westwood led by a stroke until he three putted only 12 feet away from the 18th green. He finished with a double bogey on the final hole and shot a second-round 1-over 73 to drop just a stroke behind Couples and the other co-leaders.
At 52 years old, Couples has reached an age where he is no longer expected to contend. He has dealt with back problems and his putting game has not been strong enough to keep up with younger players. Yet, Couples is defying expectations.
It is not unprecedented. Every golf fan is familiar with how Jack Nicklaus claimed his sixth and final green jacket with a final day charge in 1986 at age 46. Tom Watson also turned back the clock when he came within a shot of winning the 2009 British Open at age 59.
If Couples goes one step further and becomes the oldest player to win a major, it will automatically rank as one of the greatest moments in the history of sports—not just golf.
John Coon enjoys getting in a round from time to time in the Salt Lake City area when he is not covering golf as a freelance sports reporter.
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
No comments:
Post a Comment