Couples adds famous name to Allianz field

The good thing about the PGA Tour Champions is that every year it gets an infusion of new, if not young, talent.

By definition, the Tours Champion is a place for — to put it politely — seasoned talent. To play on this tour, you have to be 50 years or older. And every year there are new 50-year-olds being added, some of whom have become famous on the PGA Tour and are

The good thing about the PGA Tour Champions is that every year it gets an infusion of new, if not young, talent.

By definition, the older tour is a place for — to put it politely — seasoned talent. To play on this tour, you have to be 50 years or older. And every year there are new 50-year-olds being added, some of whom have become famous on the PGA Tour and are ready, willing and able to tee it up on the PGA Tour Champions.

The money is good, the companionship is good and the laid-back atmosphere is good.

This year, the Allianz Championship, to be played Friday through Sunday on The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, has added one of the PGA Tour’s most-famous golfers to its field, a make-or-break player that the tournament has sought for years.

That would be Fred Couples, who spends time on both the regular PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions, although last year he missed much of both tours with an ailing back.

“I hurt it in February, so I tried everything I could to play Augusta [The Masters],” Couples said, “and after I didn’t play there, it was really not that bothersome. Then I just stayed away. If I just take my time and don’t hurt myself, then I should be able to swing.

“Everybody’s got something, so it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Couples’ entire career has been plagued by back problems, which is a bit strange since he is considered to have one of the smoothest, most picture-perfect swings in the game. We are not talking about some hacker who mightily lunges at the ball and then immediately grabs his back while yelping in pain.

With Couples, some speculate that he swings mainly with his shoulders and upper body than with his lower body, thus torquing the back.

That all said, going into the Allianz, Couples cautiously said: “The back’s doing well at the moment.”

Giving some testament to that assessment was Couples’ second-place finish in the PGA Tour Champions’ first event of the season, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii that Bernhard Langer won by one stroke over Couples in a weather-shortened 36 holes.

“Hawaii went well,” Couples said. “It’s a very flat course, and I think this is, too.”

Couples, 57, has had a PGA career that is among golf’s best. The quickest way to prove it is money: He has won $22,595,874 with 15 PGA Tour triumphs and $8,745,363 with 11 wins on the PGA Tour Champions for a total of more than $31 million, and that doesn’t include money from 37 other professional victories and various sponsorships.

That’s more than enough money to pay for a few greens fees.

Couples, nicknamed Boom Boom, is already in the World Golf Hall of Fame and has one major (the 1992 Masters) to his credit.

Of playing in Florida, he said: “I love playing down here.”

Of playing on the PGA Tour Champions, he said: “It’s right up my alley.”

A lot of pros can’t wait to make their appearance on the older tour, that conglomeration of 50-and-over golfers with lots of camaraderie. They don’t consider it a retirement home; they consider it a next step.

As Couples aptly put it: “We don’t have Nicklaus, Player, Palmer and Trevino, but we have really good players, that’s for sure. And the fans like it.”

The money is good, the companionship is good and the laid-back atmosphere is good.

This year, the Allianz Championship, to be played Friday through Sunday on The Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, has added one of the PGA Tour’s most-famous golfers to its field, a make-or-break player that the tournament has sought for years.

That would be Fred Couples, who spends time on both the regular PGA Tour and the Tour Champions, although last year he missed much of both tours with an ailing back.

“I hurt it in February, so I tried everything I could to play Augusta [The Masters],” Couples said, “and after I didn’t play there, it was really not that bothersome. Then I just stayed away. If I just take my time and don’t hurt myself, then I should be able to swing.

“Everybody’s got something, so it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Couples’ entire career has been plagued by back problems, which is a bit strange since he is considered to have one of the smoothest, most picture-perfect swings in the game. We are not talking about some hacker who mightily lunges at the ball and then immediately grabs his back while yelping in pain.

With Couples, some speculate that he swings mainly with his shoulders and upper body than with his lower body, thus torqueing the back.

That all said, going into the Allianz, Couples cautiously said, “The back’s doing well at the moment.”

Giving some testament to that assessment was Couples’ second-place finish in the Tour Champions’ first event of the season, last week’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii that Bernhard Langer won by one stroke over Couples in a weather-shortened 36 holes.

“Hawaii went well,” Couples said. “It’s a very flat course, and I think this is too.”

Couples, now 57, has had a PGA career that is among golf’s best. The quickest way to prove that is money: he has won $22,595,874 with 15 PGA Tour triumphs and $8,745,363 with 11 wins on the Tour Champions for a total of more than $31 million, and that doesn’t include money from 37 other professional victories and various sponsorships.

That’s more than enough money to pay for a few greens fees.

Couples, nicknamed Boom Boom, is already in the World Golf Hall of Fame and has one major (the 1992 Masters) to his credit.

Of playing in Florida, he said, “I love playing down here.”

Of playing on the Tour Champions, he said, “It’s right up my alley.”

A lot of pros can’t wait to make their appearance on the Tour Champions, that conglomeration of over-50 golfers with lots of camaraderie. They don’t consider it a retirement home, they consider it a next step.

As Couples aptly put it, “We don’t have Nicklaus, Player, Palmer and Trevino, but we have really good players, that’s for sure. And the fans like it.”

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Couples adds famous name to Allianz field."