MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 10, 2026

Fred Couples

Quick Quotes

Q. How was today, Fred?

FRED COUPLES: Today was fun. It's brutal. Let me tell you, I don't know -- Tyrrell Hatton is a hell of a player, but if you're going to get a good round in, Clark would be the guys teeing off probably before 11. Greens are getting firm and fast. I thought the pins were on the front much harder than the back. But, again, you know, that's a great leaderboard.

I mean, I had a good time. You know, I was just telling them in there. I've played 41 years, and I don't need to go back. I've never wedged it into the water or really wedged it 15 yards over the green. In the old days I went for it every time, but not for 10 or 12 years, and then now it's water, water, water every time I look at the God damn thing, and I don't know why.

Today, you know, I needed to stuff it in there, and I had a perfect yardage. Yesterday was more -- I kind of wasn't even trying to hit a real good shot. I was just trying to get it over to the right 30 feet, which is really a weak effort, but it was fun.

It's a great, great spot. Challenging. You know, we all could do better, but what's a nine? Is that a quad?

Q. Quad.

FRED COUPLES: Quad double-double, wow. That's 8-over. I think that's almost impossible to do, but I did it.

Q. Does part of you feel like not just that you could have made the cut, but you could have been on the leaderboard?

FRED COUPLES: I putted -- even today I hit it in the water a couple more times, and I putted really well. Yesterday when I was 2-under on 15, you know. I carry a pin sheet, so I knew where the pin was, and I laid it up 91 yards, which is a great full 60 sand wedge, and I didn't hit it full. But if I would have parred there, I promise you I wouldn't have double-doubled, but maybe a couple of bogeys. Then today would have been a really a fun, entertaining day to see if I could shoot whatever.

Yeah, I was 1-under for 9, 10, 11, and then hit an awful shot on 12 where I did it a long time ago.

Q. You've talked a lot about your love for this place. The question is, why do you love Augusta National?

FRED COUPLES: First of all, you would have to be an idiot not to love Augusta National. I don't know if you can use those words, but they might like that, hearing that.

You know, as a kid you grow up watching it. I can't tell you, you know, Ed Sneed and what he did, Hubert Green, and then Jack Nicklaus winning and Tom Weiskopf. Those were all the greats. Weiskopf, Green, Sneed, they never won, and maybe they should have.

Then you come here, and you finally see it, and you go, you know, it's -- I mean, the only other guy I've really heard use the same words is Phil. It's like paradise. People love it, but I consider it to be just the greatest walk you could ever have.

There are great courses all over the world, but there are none of them like this.

Q. A related question. There's a sense out there that you're one of the popular, if not the most popular, guy?

FRED COUPLES: Popular what?

Q. Popular players with the patrons, with practice rounds. Why do you think that is?

FRED COUPLES: Well, I'm better off here than other tournaments. I can be real on that. I'll give you a real answer.

I have a lot of respect for this place. I have a lot of respect for golf, and if you play, you know, 20 times a year, in the old days, you know, you get frustrated. Then your mind is thinking when you're out there playing. Here my mind is always -- even at 60 -- I don't know what year I made the cut, and it honestly didn't seem that difficult.

Last year, you know, I had a great opportunity to do the same, and I missed it by a couple of strokes, but like the last six holes I struggled. I think I played them 3-over to miss the cut. But even standing here, you know -- has everyone teed off on one? So there's one, nine, down in the swale, eight, seven. It's just whoever built this had an idea, and they accomplished it.

All they've done is lengthened the tees. They're changing greens, but they're really not. It's not like they've changed greens where you don't even understand what they're doing. Maybe the 13th.

Q. I believe you're one of only three players in the history of this tournament to get to the weekend at least 30 times. While everyone talks about the magic of Masters Sunday, what's the best part of Saturday here in terms of keeping dreams and possibilities alive?

FRED COUPLES: Good question. The best part is if you're not where you'd like to be -- you know, if I was 38 years old and I was fifth group off, you try and go crazy. You try to do everything you can to birdie and make eagles back then.

Now a lot of these holes, these guys can make birdies on. Eagles are few and far between because it's a lot longer, but that's what I used to look forward to. You know, if you could just make the cut and come out and shoot a 68 or 69, you go from 45th place to 15th place, and then you worry about Sunday.

I don't think anyone comes here and says, you know, I'm playing, and I'm going to work on my swing on Saturday and Sunday. I mean, you really try and attack, and it's a fun course because there are certain sections where if you hit really good shots, you know, you can do some things.

Q. Freddie, when you were first here, who did you lean on?

FRED COUPLES: When I did what, sir? First came here?

Q. Who did you lean on?

FRED COUPLES: A little Tom Watson, but Ray Floyd mostly. I mean, we played a little bit in the mid-' 80s. He was my Ryder Cup Captain, so we played a lot of practice rounds here. Greg Norman and Ray were pretty good friends at that time, so he was always in there. A couple of times with those three guys and Tiger.

So I try and play with -- my practice rounds this week, Jake Knapp, hits it about 350; Brooks Koepka, who hits it about 349; and it's just comical. Then I get paired with Min Woo, who is a bomber. My balls are flying there, and they're going so far, but that's got nothing to do with it. As I tell all the people in the house, they know, because I can handle it with woods.

It's just hard to keep hitting 4- and 5-woods or rescues into these greens and try and stop them. I did it for a while yesterday.

Q. Do they ask you, Freddie, give us that play --

FRED COUPLES: Yeah, you know, now I played with Harry Hall, who unfortunately he didn't play well yesterday. Jake I think shot 1-over. I think Jack Knapp can win here. I really do. I think with his putting. I would be shocked in the next -- although Rory might win every year. I said that yesterday. I mean, he really could win five more of these.

Q. Can I ask you, which according to you is the toughest hole over here, and what is your secret to handling the wind on the 12th tee?

FRED COUPLES: Yeah, well. Let's start with the wind on the 12th tee. There's a few secrets. You always want -- if you're not up first, you always want to really, really watch the other guy's shot. You know, don't just see it go and then grab a club out of the bag, because it can go one way or the other.

I think the hardest hole -- you know, I think 17 and 18 are really -- not for these guys. So I wouldn't even go there for me. It doesn't even matter at 66 what holes are hard for me.

This is not an easy hole right out of the box, number one. They said yesterday the seventh hole was the hardest fairway to hit. So if you're down there to the right, I bet there were a lot of bogeys on it.

When it's dry like this, there's a lot of hard holes. But, again, go out and watch. They're hitting it -- when I hit my second shot on nine, I was down with someone's drive on nine. He had 110 yards. I'm, like, Wow. I don't know who it was, because I was trying to play the 18th hole, but they just hit it so far.

It's fun to watch. Like I said, I think that's a strong leaderboard, yeah.

Q. I was going to ask you about Fifa.

FRED COUPLES: Fifa I like a lot. He's a solid player. He's very young. I think he already knows. If he's going to work really hard on something, I would say from 155 to 175, those yardage. You watched. A lot of 7- and 8-irons.

You know, look, everyone hits bad shots, but I think if he would have -- he hit a lot of good shots. The way he plays, he could be right at this cut line. But, again, he's a young kid, but he's a solid player.

I mean, he hits it a mile. He's, what, 6 feet tall, 120 pounds. Yeah, he hits it a mile, which you can't really teach that. You can teach people how to hit 170-yard shots. He's good. He's good.

Q. There's a lot of talk about who the next U.S. Ryder Cup Captain could be. I wondered if you have any thoughts on that?

FRED COUPLES: No.

Q. If you were asked the question, you are friendly with a lot of the guys. Assuming you would --

FRED COUPLES: That's a good question. My days are long gone on that. I would be a good assistant and help, but again, that's a hard job for Luke Donald or Bernard Gallacher or Ray Floyd or Keegan Bradley.

It's a really hard job. Not that I wouldn't want it, but I'm a little old to be worried about what kind of stuff they got to do, but they'll pick a good one. I don't know who. Maybe Keegan again. It would kind of be interesting, but I don't know.

Q. Do you have a name? Justin Leonard?

FRED COUPLES: I would love to see Justin Leonard, you bet. Yeah. Any of those guys, they're all incredible.

I'm a little more loosey goosey. Sometimes I think that really helps, and I don't like a lot of the other garbage -- excuse me. I don't like a lot of other things you have to do. I think you need to worry about the players only and not other things, and I think that would help us.