Fred Couples: PGA Professional
Fred Couples is one of the golf world's most popular players, and he has compiled both a
great playing record and a worldwide following of fans who admire his athletic abilities
and personal style. One of only three PGA Tour players to have recorded multiple wins
over the three decades of the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s, Fred’s most recent victory at
the 2003 Shell Houston Open reflects his renewed dedication to the game, and a resurgence
of this talented player to the forefront of golf’s headliners.
Fred's early learning years in golf were spent on the public courses of Seattle. Growing
up he enjoyed playing all sports, but it was the time he spent with friends at the Jefferson
Park golf course that led him to pursue golf in the amateur ranks, soon becoming one of the
premier junior golfers in Washington State. Fred's amateur achievements in the Northwest
earned him an invitation to play on the golf team at the University of Houston, the collegiate
starting point for many PGA Tour players.
In Fred's rookie year on the PGA Tour, 1981, he led the PGA Tour rookies in prize money
earned, and he was immediately noticed by the galleries and his fellow competitors as a
player with the promise of greatness. Fred's first tournament win was in a five-man
playoff at the 1983 Kemper Open, and his Tour victories now total 15, plus additional
wins in international tournaments and team events.
Winning the Masters
In 1992, Fred accomplished one of a golfer's ultimate achievements, winning the green
jacket of a Masters champion. This victory was even better for Fred, when he was able to
join his great friend from the University of Houston, Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, in the Butler
Cabin for the presentation of the jacket, a moment they had dreamed about years ago in college.
This special year was capped by Fred leading the PGA Tour money list, earning his first (of
four) World Cup of Golf team titles with Davis Love III, and being selected by his fellow
PGA Tour players as Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
Team competitions are very important to Fred, and along with his World Cup Titles, he has
also been part of the U.S. team for 5 Ryder Cup and 3 President's Cup Matches.
Despite playing a more limited schedule since the onset of back problems in 1994, Fred has
continued to compile impressive statistics, including two consecutive tournament wins to open
the European Tour season in 1995, and his exciting come-from-behind victory at the 1996
Players Championship. In 1998, Fred again had a multiple-win season, with a playoff victory
at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in his first tournament of the year, and a four-stroke win
at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio.
Fred Couples is now also involved in other ventures, including consulting work in the field
of golf course design. He has worked with many different prominent golf course architects on
the layouts of over a dozen courses around the United States, including private, resort and
public courses. Fred now calls Santa Barbara home, where he lives with wife Thais and children
Gigi and Oliver.
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