Fred Couples rolled back the years with an 191-yard eagle en route to a first-round 71 at Augusta – Getty Images/Andrew Redington
At 65, Fred Couples finally looked like a man of pensionable age when he took a hybrid from his bag at the 14th for a shot of just 191 yards during the first round of the Masters.
Who cared about diminished power, though, with his lethal accuracy? The 1992 Masters champion stared intently after his bright yellow ball – one that he has started using, according to his friend Tiger Woods, to allow for his fading eyesight – willing it to “go”. He need not have worried, with the ball obligingly tracking straight into the centre of the cup for an eagle.
Advertisement
It is the perennial joy of Augusta National, this capacity of the course to turn even the most weathered veterans into contenders again. Couples is perhaps the ultimate exponent: he barely plays these days, on account of his chronic back problems, but his understanding of all the vagaries here is peerless.
Having already become the oldest man to make the Masters cut in 2023, he has added another local record, registering the longest period between rounds under par. It was 1983 when he first dipped into the red numbers at Augusta. In 2025, he has just done so again.
The highlight of his 71 came at the 14th with his hole-out two, prompting him to kiss his seven-wood in appreciation. He had already sunk a birdie putt from off the green at the first but the roars were never louder than for his eagle, which propelled him back among the leaders.
An overhead view of Couples’ eagle
While he might partly have his garish ball to thank – he “absolutely loves it”, Woods explains, “because he can’t see any more” – he still has the touch of a virtuoso. Despite his misbehaving back, his swing remains just as smooth and languid as during his heyday. Couples and Augusta: it is the golfing love story that just keeps on giving.
