Fred Couples has only played four times on the Champions Tour this season, but there was no way he was missing this week’s Boeing Classic. Despite battling back problems for most of the year, the 58-year-old is a Seattle native, and having honed his game as a kid on the city’s public golf courses, he wasn’t going to surrender what some say amounts to home-turf advantage.
Couples, 58, played the event last year and finished tied for 20th. He enters this year as a 14/1 pick, behind favorite Bernhard Langer (6/1), defending champion Jerry Kelly (8/1) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (9/1).
“I can’t wait to get to Seattle,” Couple told the Seattle Times. “There are a handful of tournaments where I really want to make sure that I get there and feel good, and Seattle would be in that category.”
Legitimate Threat?
If Couples is healthy, and he is on the right type of course, he is definitely a threat to win. Back issues have haunted him for most of his career, which is why now his schedule is so limited.
His last two outings were at Champions Tour majors, and the tougher course conditions yielded subpar results. He finished tied for 44th at the US Senior Open, and tied for 21st at the Senior Open Championship.
His first two events were more indicative of his abilities. He played in the second event of the year at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii in January, and finished tied for sixth. His next event was in June at the American Family Insurance Championship and he finished tied for third.
The Boeing Classic is a tournament he would like to win. He has finished third there three times.
“I don’t feel any more pressure, but I feel more excitement in Seattle than I do in a lot of other tournaments,” Couples said. “But I will always be excited there. I enjoy Seattle. I said before, if I never win (the Boeing Classic), it will be very, very disappointing.”
Langer, Kelly Contenders to Watch
To do that Couples will most likely have to get past Langer, who has ruled this event the past few years. He finished second in 2015, won in 2016, and was third last year. He has also won here in 2006 and 2010.
Langer has not had the type of year that he is accustomed to on the Champions Tour. He did not win a major, the first time since 2013, and only has one victory this season. If he doesn’t win again, it would be the first time since 2011 he hasn’t had multiple victories.
Kelly, who is the leader for the Charles Schwab Cup, has won once, but has strung together six top-5 finishes, and could easily win back-to-back here. He leads the tour in putting, and is third in driving accuracy.
Two golfers are making their Champions Tour debut this week. Chris DiMarco and Darren Clarke have entered the field. Clarke has the better record of the two, winning the Open Championship in 2011. DiMarco’s last victory was In 2002 at the Phoenix Open.
Clarke, however, has longer odds than DiMarco. The Irishman is at 100/1, while DiMarco is 80/1.
