Bad back sinks Fred Couples, who vows to be back: ‘This was ugly’

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fred Couples’ injured back almost caused him to quit, but the 1992 champion bristled at the notion he might have played his final Masters.

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“No, no and I’m planning on being healthy and making the cut,” Couples said after shooting a painful 80-76 to miss the cut at Augusta National. “This was really ugly. Yesterday there were several times I should have not played.”

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Couples said it crossed his mind to quit mid-round on Thursday, but said he thought that his playing partners could still use some of his shots to help gauge the blustery winds, so he opted to trudge on.

Couples’ chronic back woes have taken a turn for the worse recently and he has missed several Champions Tour events this year leading up to this week.

“My back is shot. I have more stuff on just to play,” he said.

Driving the ball and fairway woods allowing him to clip the ball from the grass weren’t the problem, it was the descending blow of iron shots that require much more turf interaction that were nearly unbearable.

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“I can’t hit an iron. My body won’t let me do it,” he said, before explaining his approach shot at the ninth hole on Friday. “It was a 9-iron shot, but I was trying to hit a 7-iron and I just couldn’t swing. The ball went 80 yards in the air and rolled up short left of the green.

“It’s embarrassing. I don’t want to embarrass myself. But I chipped and putted so well today most of the time that it was kind of interesting.”

Couples managed two birdies on the second nine during Friday’s four-over round of 76 and re-iterated that he intends to return next year.

“I’ve got to get my back fixed. I could play forever, but I can’t play like this,” he said.

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